


Spend My Heart On You

by cindersanddiamonds



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coffee Shops, Kissing, M/M, Meet-Cute, Viktor is Concern, Viktor is a sappy romantic and Yuuri is flattered but anxious, Yuuri is Anxiety, actually digestable, and it's in character for the Yuri On Ice Characters, but like, it started out as a comedy/crack but turned into a romantic comedy, limousines that are far too extra to just be rentals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-06-02 15:32:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 37,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19444345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cindersanddiamonds/pseuds/cindersanddiamonds
Summary: Viktor meets Yuuri and falls in love instantly. But will his rampant spending spree put a damper on their date? Yuuri was in the same boat, however more concerned with how to breathe so he can talk... But doesn't Viktor look familiar?Set 2 years before Yuuri graduates college and returns to Japan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Phichit exits the bathroom with a triumphant smile, and Yuuri snatches his phone back and scrolls through the messages, his heart pounding. Phichit pats his shoulder.  
> “What did you do???” Yuuri was tempted to text him back and say he couldn’t come, but Viktor responded with another heart emoji, and his heart broke. He couldn’t say no to a heart emoji…  
> “I helped you plan a date, now let’s go find you something nice to wear!”  
> “Nooo…” Yuuri moaned, as Phichit pushed him into his bedroom to dig through his closet. “I’m not ready…”  
> “He’s leaving next weekend, you only have so long to hang out with him, you have to take a chance. Text him some more, maybe you can find something you have in common with him. Like you both enjoy figure skating, I think he mentioned something like that. And poodles, he liked your poodle.”  
> “Fine, I’ll… try,” Yuuri sighs, collapsing onto his bed as Phichit goes to dig through his closet.  
> “Good boy!”

He walked into the room with all the grace and poise one could possess when entering a coffee shop, and Viktor damn near fainted on the spot at the sight of him. His hair shone in the morning sunlight, and his eyes were turned down at his phone, but he was certain he could get lost in them all the same. He stopped at the counter, pocketed his phone, and looked up past Viktor at the menu, and his younger coworker had to help the next customer, since Viktor was busy admiring the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. When the man seemed ready to order, his eyes narrowing in assent - god, his eyes were beautiful, a deep amber that sparkled in the nearest beam of sunlight streaming in from the skylights above - Viktor shook himself out of his stupor and pushed his coworker aside to take it himself. 

“Hello, how can I help you?” Yuri, his coworker, kicked his shin. He ignored it, and his customer didn’t seem to notice, too busy getting flustered by Viktor’s genuine-looking smile. Viktor watched him try to compose himself, his own smile growing wider, until the man finally replied, his cheeks pleasantly pink. 

“Uhh…” The man nibbled his bottom lip, searching Viktor’s face, and returned his gaze to the menu, having conveniently forgotten what he’d wanted to order. “Just a uh… lemon… with honey… green… tea…”

“Sorry?” Yuuri blinked, not having noticed that he was mumbling. 

“Um… A Honey Lemon Ginseng, pl-please, with just a little cream.” the man stutters, turning back to Viktor, and looking down at the counter. Viktor bit his lip, still grinning, and turned to a slip of paper to write down his order. 

“What size?” 

“Medium?” Yuuri replied, enraptured by Viktor’s silver hair. Viktor jot it down. 

“Is that it?” 

“Yup!” Yuuri replied, too loudly, as Viktor lifted his head again, still smiling. 

“3.24,” Viktor announced, turning to his register. Yuri sulked away with the order as Viktor watched the man fumble through his wallet for some cash. “Can I get a name for the cup?” 

“Oh, uh. Yuuri,” says the man, sliding a five over the counter shyly, still looking at the grain of the counter. Viktor took it and plugged it into the cash register, glancing up at Yuuri as he did. Yuuri glanced back down at the counter like he had been staring back at him. He handed Yuuri his change, and their fingers brushed as Yuuri took it.

“I’ve never seen you in here before,” Viktor says, making conversation while Yuri makes the tea. There weren’t any customers waiting at the moment, and he’d make Yuri take them if they did. “You’re awfully shy, lots of people are when they come in, I’m not sure why…”

“I… uh, come in here often, actually, I should be saying the same of you,” Yuuri replies, still scared to make eye contact, lest he drown in Viktor’s pale blue eyes, that he was staring at right now, god dammit. He swallowed a lump that was starting to form in his throat. “Did- did you just start here?” 

“Er, no, not really...” Viktor grins, printing out the receipt. Yuri plops down Yuuri’s tea before Viktor could finish talking. “Oh, thank you, Yuri, I almost forgot to do that.”

“Whatever.” Yuri scoffs and goes to find something to clean. Yuuri blinks as Viktor hands him his cup. 

“Here you are. I’m Viktor, by the way, in case you didn’t see my nametag. You have been staring a lot, so I wasn’t sure.”

“Oh, hi, uh” Yuuri says awkwardly, taking the cup, not sure how else to respond. “Yuuri, nice to meet you.”  _ Stupid, stupid, you already said your name!  _

“Oh, you’re cute,” Viktor laughs. Yuuri nearly drops his cup. “Did I say something? I’m not usually this chatty, sorry…” 

“No, it’s… fine, sorry, I’ve just… never had such a nice looking man call me cute before,” Yuuri blushed, sipping his tea. Viktor felt his own cheeks growing hot, not sure if Yuuri was trying to flirt or not. Viktor was certainly trying to. “There’s no cream in this…” Yuuri frowns, not realizing he’d said it aloud. He peels the lid back to check, and Viktor jumps from his spot. 

“Really? Here, I’ll make you another, sorry about that. Yuri, where’d you go?!” 

“No, it’s fine, I’ll just get some from the self service, you don’t have to.” Yuuri blushes more. Viktor was already at the kettle. “Sir, um- Viktor, please, it’s fine.”

“On the house, Yuuri, don’t you worry..”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble, though, I’ll help myself,” Yuuri pleads, bumbling towards the self service counter. It was a good thing he had nowhere to be today. Sh _ it,  _ he forgot to get something for Phichit! He’d ask after. But then Viktor appeared beside him once he finished pouring his cream with a fresh cup of tea, the lid missing to show it was made correctly, and Yuuri panicked. This man was far too nice, and far too beautiful to be giving Yuuri free beverages, and it was starting to make him anxious.

“Oh,” Viktor breathed, and Yuuri looked up at him as he replaced the lid of his tea.

“I tried to tell you,” Yuuri said, lifting his cup to his lips and panicking. “Thank you though, maybe I can bring it to my roommate. I don’t mind paying for it, since you went to the trouble.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Viktor said, coming to his senses and pushing the coffee towards him. “You have a roommate?” Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Both?  _ Focus, you’re losing your head! _

“I insist, I don’t want you getting in trouble with your boss. You’re very sweet, but...” Yuuri shoved a ten dollar bill into his hands, desperate to escape before he ended up spilling something on this poor barista. Viktor opened his mouth to protest, but Yuuri took the extra cup, not wanting to be rude, and started to leave. “Keep the change, have a nice day!” Viktor was left with his mouth agape, his heart still pounding on the edge of heartache, Yuuri never having answered his question. 

“Hey idiot, get back here and help me!” Yuri shouted from behind the counter, and Viktor sighed, broken from his thoughts. Back to business as usual, he supposed. 

  
  


“Hey, you’re back early. It usually takes me forever to wait for my lattes down there,” Phichit, Yuuri’s roommate and closest friend said as Yuuri entered their shared apartment, sprawled across the couch with a hamster lounging on his chest. 

“Yeah… I was going to run, but I didn’t want to spill anything,” Yuuri replied, his mind still reeling. “The barista that took my order was… way too hot.” He set the extra Honey Lemon on the coffee table in front of Phichit, who perked up at Yuuri’s description. “And distracted.”

“You mean distracting?” 

“Both.” Yuuri checked the couch for other hamsters, which there were none, thankfully, before he sat down, and Phichit moved the one on his chest to his shoulder as he sat up, making room for him. “The other barista that made my tea didn’t put cream in it, so the second one insisted on making me a free one. I felt like I was there for an hour.”

“Well you’ve only been gone twenty minutes,” Phichit replied, reaching for the drink that Yuuri had set down next to him. “Wait, this isn’t a latte.” It took him a minute, but Phichit’s eyes bugged out at Yuuri when he did finally understand. “Is this the free tea he made you?”

“Yeah, except I paid for it and gave him a twenty five percent tip on top of it.” 

“How much is that.”

“Ten dollars?” Yuuri said, looking at Phichit. Phichit laughs. 

“So what, a seven dollar tip? I don’t think that’s twenty five percent, is it?”

“Phichit.” 

“Right, not the point, sorry. What is this, anyway?”

“Lemon Honey Ginseng with a little bit of cream?” Yuuri says, sipping his own. Phichit makes a face, and brings the cup to his face to smell it. “What, are you not going to drink it? You better before your hamster tries to take a swim in it,” Yuuri says, gently moving the hamster before it can get to the tea. 

“Pringles won’t fall in, will you, silly?” Phichit laughs, and takes a sip of the tea. “Mm, not bad. What did you say this sexy barista looked like?”

“I did not say sexy!” Yuuri gasps, putting his tea down and reaching for the nearest hamster ball so they didn’t have to babysit Pringles. Phichit takes the hamsterball and puts it in his lap, leaving the door open. “I said hot and distracting.”

“Well go on with it, then, I’m listening!” Phichit took another sip of his tea. “Whatever he looks like, he makes a good cup of tea.” Yuuri sighs, lamenting that he’d been drinking the younger looking barista’s tea, but he was sure they tasted just about the same. Or at least, he hoped so. 

“Um, he had really pretty blue eyes, and short cropped silver hair… he was built kind of like a dancer, you know, but a little taller and a little more muscle.”

“Yeah, he must go to the gym, then, yeah, go on. Spent a lot of time staring, did you? Did you see his butt?”

“Phichit, I’m gonna take the tea away.” 

“No, this is mine now, you lost your chance for the sexy barista tea.”

“Whatever.” 

“Are you done with your description, or can I hear more about what happened that’s got you all worked up?”

“Oh, uh, I guess that’s it, he’s got a nice jawline, and his nose sticks out in a cute way?”

“Oh, how cute?”

“Uh… I don’t know, cute enough. I think he had a Russian accent, but I couldn’t tell.”

“Ooh, not my type but go on.” Yuuri laughs. “What, he could be your type. I’m more into sexy European twinks than Russian twunks.”

“What the hell is a twunk?” Yuuri laughs harder, glad he’d put his tea down, and that Phichit was so good at distracting him. “And isn’t Europe and Russia the same thing?”

“Yuuri, Europe is a continent, and Russia is a country in Asia, a separate continent, I thought you knew this?”

“God, Phichit, it’s too early for a geography lesson…”

“Hey, you asked! And it’s important to me that you know your geography, Yuuri, as a fellow member of the Asian continent. Or is Japan it’s own continent now, I’m confused.”

“Phichit, you’re confusing  _ me  _ now, I thought you wanted to know about Viktor?” Phichit stopped mid inhale, his lecturing finger out, and he turned to stare off into the distance, down, then back up at Yuuri. “What?”

“You never said his name was Viktor. What color did you say his hair was?”

“Uh, silver, why?” Phichit scrambled to find his phone, and typed a name into google. Yuuri barely saved Pringles, who was now napping again, from falling on the floor. “Phichit, what is it?” 

“Hold on. There it is. Here, look!” Phichit shoved his phone into Yuuri’s face, and Yuuri had to lean back to see what was on the screen. “Is that him?” 

Yuuri couldn’t believe this. Viktor’s face smiled up at him from Phichit’s phone, and in a wikipedia summary, no less. He took Phichit’s phone, and scrolled through the rest of the results, while Phichit kept talking. 

“I saw him in there when I went in last week, and he greeted me, and we talked for a minute, cause I was curious, and I told him he was too sexy to just be a barista, and the bastard laughed, and said he owns the fucking chain! The one down the street isn’t even his home store, he just likes the area, so he comes and manages the store sometimes. Imagine that, though, the CEO offered you free tea and you paid for it anyway.” Yuuri threw the phone back at Phichit, his heart racing. “What, did that freak you out?”

“Yes?? The man called me cute, and I was a wreck the entire time I was in there, on god, I can never step foot in that cafe ever again.”

“Yuuri, if he thought you were cute, then that must be a good thing, right? Did you ask for his number?”

“No??? I- he brought me the second cup of tea before I could ask him to make you a latte, and I panicked, paid him ten dollars, and escaped while he was distracted, I was way too nervous to ask him for his number, are you insane?”

“You should have anyway, He’s cute, you’re cute, it works!” 

“No way in hell am I going back there to get his number. Not today, not ever.” 

“Fine, if you’re really going to be stubborn about it,” Phichit shrugs, leaning back and sipping his tea. “We could use tea like this around the apartment every day. Maybe he can bring us a fancy new cappuccino machine, make us coffee in the morning...”

“Phichit, stop it.” 

“Come on, the guy’s probably loaded! And if  _ you  _ walked into  _ my  _ coffee shop, I’d be loading free stuff onto you, too, you’re adorable!” Yuuri buried his face in his hands, his embarrassment only growing. “Fine, I’ll stop. I’m going back there for a latte once I put Pringles back, though, cause this tea is good, but I need my latte. You sure you don’t want to come with?” Yuuri opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by Phichit’s phone ringing. They looked down at it, the familiar tone playing from Yuuri’s favorite band, that Phichit had set as his ringtone. “That’s weird, it says you’re calling me.” Yuuri’s heart drops to the pit of his stomach. He did Not leave his phone at the coffee shop.

“Don’t pick it up!” Yuuri hisses, as Phichit slowly lifts the phone up, already having clicked the button, and put it on speaker. 

“Hello, you’ve reached Phichit, may I ask who’s calling?” He says brightly, and there’s a scuffling at the other end, as though the caller switched the phone to his other ear. Yuuri wants to die when Viktor responds, bright and cheery. 

“Oh, hi, yeah! I met you last week! Is, is Yuuri there? He left his phone at the coffee shop, he left in such a rush! I didn’t even notice myself until a customer brought it up from the self service counter.” Yuuri looks up, signing wildly at Phichit to say he wasn’t there. He couldn’t stand the embarrassment.

“Yeah, he’s here.” Phichit winks at him, sipping his tea. Yuuri glares back, and Phichit sticks his tongue out at him. “You scared him, I think, he’s not used to sexy baristas offering him free drinks, not even at clubs.” Viktor laughs nervously on his end, the clanking and whirring of the coffee shop in the background unmistakable. “Are you still at the coffee shop?” 

“Yeah, actually, I’m here till 11am. Oh, I’m sorry if I scared him, he startled me, too, to be honest; I wasn’t expecting such a vision to walk in this morning. He’s really cute, I thought I was dreaming.” 

“Viktor, get your ass off the phone and come help me, dammit!” A second voice yells in the background, and Viktor sighs. 

“You know I’m your boss, right? Stop swearing in front of the customers, or I’ll dock your pay for the week,” Viktor calls back, distant, having pulled the phone away from his ear. “Sorry about that, that’s my cousin, I’m in town for his graduation, and his parents insisted I give him a job at one of my stores, he’s… still got some things to learn, but he’s not bad at making coffee.” More incoherent yelling. “I’ll be there in a minute, Yuri, stop yelling!” 

“Oh really? I thought you just enjoyed the area?” Phichit grinned, and Yuuri leaned back on the couch, mimicking a faint. He couldn’t bear this. 

“I do, I really do, I’ve been here about a month. I have to fly out next weekend though, on business, you know how it is.”

“Sure, sure,” Phichit says. “Oh, I’m Yuuri’s roommate, by the way. He gave me the extra tea, it’s really good.”

“Did he? He said he might, I’m glad you like it.” Viktor sounded disappointed. 

“Do you want to talk to him?” Yuuri looks up at Phichit in a panic, but could only watch as Phichit talks him into a corner. 

“VIKTOR!” 

“Uh, sure, if he doesn’t mind.” Something crashes and Yuri yells for a mop. “Uh… Maybe if he wants to come get his phone, Yuri is about to scare away all my customers.”

“Sure, he’ll be there.” Yuuri face palms as Phichit finishes his tea in one gulp. 

“Great. I’ll keep his phone at the counter.” 

“Thank you!” Phichit sings, as Viktor hangs up. “Look, you already have a date!” 

“I hate you.” 

“You’re welcome. Now come on, be glad no one stole your phone because you were a careless wreck.” Yuuri pouts and rolls over onto his stomach. Phichit gets up to bring Pringles back to his cage.

“Just leave me here to die,” Yuuri wails, but Phichit pulls him off the couch, “Nooo…”

“Fix your hair, come on, you gotta stay cute… ew, maybe go wash your face, you’re all sweaty.” Yuuri groans and lays his head on Phichit’s shoulder. “Aw, come on, Yuuri, maybe he’ll give you his number this time.” 

“It’s too embarrassing to go by myself.”

“I’m going with you, dummy, now come, he’s waiting for you.”

  
  


Ten minutes later, Phichit and Yuuri were waiting in line at the coffee shop again, but Vitkor was nowhere to be seen. 

“Look, he’s not here, let’s just go,” Yuuri says, but Phichit grabs his arm before he can leave. 

“It’s only 9:45, he’s still here,” Phichit hisses at him. “And I’m not leaving without my latte.” Yuuri sighs and rubs his face. His hands were sweaty again. He rubbed them on his pants nervously.

“Next,” Yuri called, and Phichit bounced up brightly, Yuuri just behind him. “Oh god, it’s you again,” the angry blonde barista scowled, looking Yuuri up and down. Yuuri just waved uncomfortably. 

“Hey, you should be nicer to your customers, Yuri,” Phichit frowns, “I’m sure Viktor has no qualms about giving you a worse job than this.” 

“Welcome to coffee,” Yuri grumbled through his teeth, and Yuuri squirmed under Yuri’s poisonous gaze. “How can I help you today?”

“Better,” Phichit replied, relaxing and looking up at the menu. “Can I get a medium vanilla and caramel latte with whole milk and three sugars? Please and thank you.” 

“Will that be all?” Phichit looked at Yuuri, who shook his head.

“Yes, thank you.”

“That’ll be 4.15,” Yuri replied, and Phichit pulled a five from his pocket. Yuuri pulled a dime and a nickel from his pocket to give to him, and Yuri returned the change. Phichit dropped it in the tip jar. “Whoop-dee-doo, a whole dollar, thanks mister,” Yuri rolled his eyes. 

“Be glad I tipped you at all, it doesn’t look like anyone’s been tipping you today, anyway.” 

“Your drink will be right out,” Yuri ignores his comment, and turns to go make the latte, shooting a glare at Yuuri. 

“What did you do to him?” Phichit asks Yuuri, who shrugs as they go to wait at the pickup counter.

“I don’t know, I didn’t even talk to him when I was here before.” Suddenly Viktor appeared at the counter, his smile returning at the sight of Yuuri. Yuuri blushed and pretended he hadn’t seen him yet.

“Hey, it’s you again!” Viktor grins, and Yuuri waves, acting surprised that he was there. “Oh, I have your phone, you should be more careful with it.” Viktor disappears to the register and comes back with his phone, the case blue with little poodles on it. “I like your phone case. And your background, is that your dog?”

“Uh, Yeah,” Yuuri found himself saying, blushing even more as he took his phone back. “But he’s at home in Japan cause I couldn’t keep him in the dorm, I’m only here for school.” 

“Oh, really?” Viktor says, fascinated, and once again enraptured by his pretty eyes. “What are you here for?”

“Uh, dance major,” Yuuri says weakly. Phichit nudges his side. “Ballet, and uh… contemporary dance…” Phichit nudges him again. “And figure skating, but that’s not part of my major, my dance teacher back home got me into it.” Why was he talking about all of this? Why was Phichit making him do this?

“Wow, figure skating, huh?” Viktor’s eyes sparkled. “Are you competitive? I have a few friends in that. I tried getting into it myself, but I guess it really wasn’t meant to be…” 

“Uh, small scale, yeah,” Yuuri says, curious, now. What turned Viktor off from figure skating, he wondered? “You’re a coffee shop chain owner now, though, I guess that makes good money, huh?”

“Did Phichit tell you?” Viktor blushes, embarrassed. “But yes, actually, it does. Oh, do small scale competitions do sponsorships? I know my other friends get sponsorships sometimes, but they go international, so I don’t know.”

“Sp- Sponsorship? Uh, no, I’ve never gotten any, no, that would be… too much, I think,” Yuuri stutters, and Phichit seems surprised as well. 

“I do international sometimes,” Phichit says. Viktor turns to him. “But I’ve never been offered a sponsorship from a coffee shop before, how would that even work?” 

“I don’t know, I’d have to talk to marketing and finance, and your coach, I think. I don’t know how it works.” Viktor frowned. “But anyway, did you want anything?”

“I just ordered a latte,” Phichit says. 

“Yuuri?”

“I still haven’t finished my tea from before,” Yuuri confesses. “I left it at the apartment though, it’s probably cold by now…”

“I can make you anothe-” Viktor begins, in barista mode again, and already reaching for a cup.

“No, it’s fine!” Yuuri interjects. “I’ll heat it up when I get home, thank you though.”

“Okay. How about I take you for coffee another time, then?” Viktor asks, a smile growing on his lips. Phichit turns to smile at Yuuri, too.

“Oh, uh. That’s not redundant?”

“Not at all! If you’d rather not have coffee, I can take you to lunch?” Yuuri’s blush returns. Phichit snickers beside him. 

“If- if you insist,” Yuuri replies nervously. His smile was hard to resist. So was free food. “Should- should we exchange numbers?” 

“That’s usually how things like this go,” Viktor grins, head over heels. “Here, I’ll write mine down for you.” Viktor pulls a piece of paper out of his apron and jots down his number in his neatest handwriting, and hands it to Yuuri. Yuuri takes it, his hands shaking. Yuri slides Phichit’s coffee over to him not a second later, and Viktor stops them to make sure Yuri made it right. “Did you make it right this time?” Viktor asked him, and Yuri scowls up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“You made Yuuri’s tea without cream before, did you make Phichit’s latte right?” Phichit and Yuuri exchanged a glance. “What did he order?”

“I don’t know, a vanilla latte with sugar?”

“Did you write it down?” Viktor asked gently. Phichit spoke up when Yuri didn’t answer.

“It was a vanilla and caramel latte, with whole milk and three sugars,” he says, and Viktor takes a second to write it down on a fresh slip of paper. 

“Did you put the caramel and the milk in it?” Yuri grumbled to himself and turned to make the latte right. “That’s what I thought. Pay more attention next time, and write your orders down!” Viktor sighs and turns back to Phichit and Yuuri. “Sorry, I’ll tell you when it’s ready, just let me take the next customer while he does that.” 

“Of course,” Phichit says, and herds a still shell shocked Yuuri to a table to wait at. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Yuuri breathes, staring down at the slip of paper with Viktor’s number on it. “No wonder it takes forever to wait for coffee, Yuri has to keep remaking your drink, right?”

“Something like that. I haven’t been in here in a while, Cao cao keeps calling me in early for practice and they’re never open that early, so I skip it. Maybe Yuri only works weekends?” 

“Bummer. So what takes your coffee so long?” Yuuri takes out his phone to plug Viktor’s number in, still not sure how he managed to get it while he was such a mess. 

“Zoloto Cafe is more popular than Starbucks these days, Yuuri, sometimes I come in here on my lunch and it’s packed. Sure it’s slower on weekend mornings, but that just means that you have to get here when they first open so you don’t have to wait… I thought you knew this, you come in here all the time too…” 

“Yeah, but I didn’t know it was a chain…” Yuuri said, putting a cute picture of his puppy as Viktor’s picture and saving the contact. Phichit leans over to look. 

“Did you just put Vicchan as Viktor’s contact picture?”

“Maybe.” Yuuri blushes. “I’ll change it if I get a cute picture of him.” 

“You are adorable,” Phichit whispers. Yuuri shoves him back into his chair, both of them laughing among themselves. “But seriously, I’m calling bullshit that you didn’t know it was a chain. There’s another one down the street from the community college!”

“Yeah, but I’ve never been down there. We go to the university, remember?” 

“Well, Yeah, but-“

“Here’s your latte,” Yuri says, appearing at the table. “Viktor said to bring it over. Vanilla and caramel, and whole milk, and three sugars, medium.” Phichit looks him up and down, and takes the coffee to try. Yuuri watches with mild interest. “Did I make it right?” 

“Mm, wow that’s sweet, good job,” Phichit compliments, pulling another five from his pocket and passing it to Yuri, who takes it with genuine surprise. “Wish I could give you ten, the other barista never makes it this sweet, they’re always stingy with the pumps of caramel.” Phichit takes another long swig, and Yuri looks up at him with pride. “Mind passing that along to the other baristas? The pumps of caramel, not the five, that’s all yours.” 

“Uh, sure. Thanks.” Yuri shoves the five into his apron pocket and returns to the counter. Yuuri watches him go as Phichit gets up from the table. He catches Viktor staring at him from behind the counter. 

“Are you gonna text him?” Phichit whispers, and Yuuri gets up and follows him to the door. 

“Maybe later. I need room to breathe first… this is a lot.”

“Ok, take your time, I’m sure he’ll understand.” Viktor waves from behind the counter, and Yuuri waves back, wondering again how the hell he managed to get Viktor Nikiforov’s number. 

  
  


Viktor went home from his shift that day, still without a text from Yuuri, wondering how the hell he had managed to land a date with such a cute boy. But he still hadn’t texted him. He couldn’t resist googling Yuuri’s skating career over lunch, knowing for a fact that even small competitions still recorded their performances, nearly choking on his salad when he saw Yuuri skate for the first time. 

It was beautiful. He almost didn’t have to listen to the music, Yuuri moved with such fluidity. Each time Yuuri jumped, Viktor’s heart soared, and he still had butterflies by the time it ended. How the hell was Yuuri not competing internationally? Certainly he would be in the running for gold by now, right? He searched for another video, which didn’t take long, his salad long forgotten. One video in particular caught his attention, and he stared in disbelief for several minutes before clicking the video.

**_Yuuri Katsuki, International Men’s Skating, Kyushu Championship Finals: Free Skate Based Off Of Viktor Nikiforov’s Last Exhibition!!_ **

_ Posted by Phichitchu 3 years ago _

Viktor god damn near dropped his phone. Yuuri lied to him! Did Yuuri know? God, did Yuuri recognize him at all? He watched the video, tears welling in his eyes as Yuuri danced to a song Viktor had long forgotten the moves to. The moment he saw Yuuri again, he was giving this man the biggest hug. The last note hit Viktor like a ton of bricks, and his tears spilled over almost instantly. Yuuri was… perfect… and such a beautiful dancer. A waitress tapped his shoulder and he looked up, having forgotten that he was sitting in a restaurant.

He sniffled and apologized, pulling a credit card from his wallet, and asked for a to go box. The waitress, confused and concerned, obliged, and disappeared with his card and his barely touched salad. Viktor wiped his face with a napkin, embarrassment coloring his cheeks, hoping no one was still staring at him. 

Of course Yuuri didn’t recognize him, he thought to himself as he waited for the waitress to return, holding a finger to his lips in thought. He’d left figure skating with wildly long hair when he was eighteen, and now his hair was cropped and swept over his face. God, it felt like forever ago…. 

“Your receipt, sir,” the waitress said as she returned, handing him his card and a receipt. Viktor thanked her, and took the to go bag she handed him. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” Viktor smiled, pocketing his phone and leaving a forty dollar tip on the table as he walked out. The waitress blinked in surprise. “Have a nice day!” 

“When are you going to text him, Yuuri?” Phichit bugged him, leaning on Yuuri’s shoulder. They were lounging in the living room of their apartment, watching old movies on a low volume. 

“Later, Phichit, stop bugging me about it.” 

“I’m sure he’s waiting, he seemed to really like you.” 

“Phichit…”

“If you don’t text him, I’ll do it for you. You have a chance at a relationship with a rich dude, Yuuri, that’s really cool, and I will resent you if you never give it a chance.”

“No you won’t,” Yuuri says, rolling his eyes. 

“You’re right, I won’t, but you’ll definitely regret it if you wait too long and he finds someone else.” They stare at each other for several minutes, Yuuri glaring tiredly, and Phichit challenging him silently, until Yuuri pushes him away and pulls out his phone. “Yes! I believe in you, Yuuri, you’re the man!”

“Whatever,” Yuuri sighs, pulling up Viktor’s contact and pressing the message button. 

**_Y:_ ** _ Hey, it’s Yuuri from before, uh… you know, the scared one with the glasses?  _

_ 2:09 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Oh my god, hi!! \ (‘  _ _ ♡  _ _ `)/ What took you, I was worried that you might have forgotten about me… _

_ 2:09 pm _

__ “Oh my god, is that a heart mouth emoji?” Phichit whispers, leaning over Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri scowls and pushes him away, only to more laughter. “That’s adorable.”

“Shut up.”

**_Y:_ ** _ uh, yeah, sorry about that…  _

_ 2:11 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ When did you say you wanted to take me to lunch? _

_ 2:12 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Oh! Yuuri, so forward. Tomorrow, maybe? Or whenever you’re free next, I can make time, it’s no trouble.♡ _

_ 2:12 pm _

“Phichit give me my phone back!” Yuuri gasps, as Phichit bolts across the room, typing as he goes. Yuuri follows him. “Phichit!” 

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Sure, tomorrow sounds fine. Do you have anywhere in mind?  _

_ 2:12 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ How about that fancy seafood restaurant downtown? Have you been there before? They have the best soups. I don’t mind paying for the both of us if you’re worried about the cost. _

_ 2:13 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Sounds perfect! I’ll be there. What time should I be ready? _

_ 2:13 pm _

“Phichit, no! Let me in!” Yuuri shouts, pounding on the bathroom door. Phichit laughs, and turns the volume up on his phone so Yuuri could hear him typing. “Nooo!”

“This is for your own good, Yuuri, you’re terrible at conversation.”

“Exactly, how am I supposed to go on a date with him if I’m bad at conversation??”

“You’ll figure it out, Yuuri!” 

**_VN:_ ** _ Can I pick you up at 1:00pm? Maybe we can catch a movie afterward, too!  _

_ 2:14pm _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Perfect! See you then! _

_ 2:14pm _

Phichit exits the bathroom with a triumphant smile, and Yuuri snatches his phone back and scrolls through the messages, his heart pounding. Phichit pats his shoulder. 

“What did you do???” Yuuri was tempted to text him back and say he couldn’t come, but Viktor responded with another heart emoji, and his heart broke. He couldn’t say no to a heart emoji…

“I helped you plan a date, now let’s go find you something nice to wear!” 

“Nooo…” Yuuri moaned, as Phichit pushed him into his bedroom to dig through his closet. “I’m not ready…” 

“He’s leaving next weekend, you only have so long to hang out with him, you have to take a chance. Text him some more, maybe you can find something you have in common with him. Like you both enjoy figure skating, I think he mentioned something like that. And poodles, he liked your poodle.” 

“Fine, I’ll… try,” Yuuri sighs, collapsing onto his bed as Phichit goes to dig through his closet. 

“Good boy!”

  
  
  
  
  


**_Y:_** _Hey…._

_ 9:08 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Hi!! You’re up late… _

_ 9:09 pm  _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Haha, yeah, I never really get to sleep that early. And 9pm isn’t exactly late.  _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Oh my god, were you asleep? I’m so sorry!!! _

_ 9:10 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ No, no, it’s fine. I usually stay up till 9:30 on my phone… I’ve been trying to sleep earlier, but it’s not really working. My dog insists on late night walkies, and I can’t say no to her… _

_ 9:11 pm _

__ **_VN sent a photo_ ** _ 9:11 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ You have a dog? What breed is she?  _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Oh my god. _

_ 9:11 pm _

The photo that Viktor sent sent Yuuri spiraling. It was of Viktor, hair mussed from lying down and wearing nothing but a sleepy smile, with a large poodle’s face pressed to his own, her tongue lolling happily. Yuuri recognized the dog instantly, and nearly died on the spot. 

“Phichit!!!” He yelled in a panic, and Phichit burst into the room seconds later, wielding a blade from one of his old ice skates. 

“What is it, where’s the bastard?” Phichit tripped over Yuuri’s shoe and landed on the bed, and got up on his knees. “Who do I have to kill?”

“Put the ice skate down, I promise you’d know if I was being murdered in my sleep,” Yuuri says, rolling his eyes. “Look at this picture Viktor just sent me.” 

“He didn’t send you a dick pic, did he?” Phichit groaned, and tossed the blade aside to take Yuuri’s phone, and settled in beside him after Yuuri kicked his leg. “Oh my god, is that  _ Makkachin? _ ” 

“Yeah, I think it is,” Yuuri said, losing his mind. 

“Like, International Skating Sensation until like eight years ago Viktor Nikiforov’s dog Makkachin? It can’t be the same person, can it?” Yuuri ran his hands through his hair, panicking. “He’s texting you back, oh my god. Ask him.” Phichit shoved the phone back at Yuuri. 

“Fuck no! How do I even ask him?” 

“I don’t know, just do it!!” 

**_VN:_ ** _ She’s a standard poodle. I’ve had her since I was 15. She’s still a big baby, though. Her name is Makkachin and she thinks she’s my lap dog, which she totally is. Do you want to see more pictures? _

_ 9:13 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Hello?  _

_ 9:18 pm _

“You do it!” Yuuri says, shoving his phone back at Phichit, who was already googling Viktor again. “Phichit!” 

“It’s the same fucking guy!” Phichit shouts, standing up on the bed, and Yuuri feels like he’s gonna explode with stress. “You got  _ The _ Viktor Nikiforov’s fucking phone number! Hasn’t this been your dream since you were like  _ 12??? _ Why aren’t you more excited?!”

“Yes, but I was an idiot in front of him, I want to crawl under a rock and die!” Yuuri wails, falling back into the bed, watching Viktor’s typing bubbles appear and disappear. It was after 9:20 now, and didn’t Viktor say he was going to fall asleep at 9:30?

“What are you waiting for, text him back!” Yuuri groaned and rolled into his stomach to start typing, and watched Viktor’s typing bubble disappear again as he did. Phichit settled in beside him, but Yuuri didn’t have the energy to push him away. 

**_Y:_ ** _ she’s really cute, but she looks… really familiar. _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ you uh… wouldn’t happen to have been a famous ice skater when you were younger, were you?  _

_ Read 9:22 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I’m so sorry I lied, Yuuri, I wasn’t sure how you would take it, or if you would believe me, for that matter. Not a lot of people really remember my skating career, they only really know me as the owner of the Zoloto Cafe chain. I hope you can forgive me, Yuuri, I should have been honest with you from the start. Though you did say you didn’t skate internationally, but you totally do! You’re a beautiful skater, Yuuri, I can’t imagine why you didn’t tell me, but I guess I don’t really need an answer if you don’t want to give me one, since I don’t really feel comfortable talking about my skating career either.  _

_ 9:35 pm _

“Oh my god,” Yuuri and Phichit said in unison, having been watching Viktor’s ellipses bubble the entire time. 

“I’m deleting his number, I can’t handle this,” Yuuri said, and Phichit grabbed the phone from him again. 

“Don’t you fucking dare!He could have blocked you for asking, and he didn’t, besides he probably won’t mind if he has a fan, maybe.” Phichit held Yuuri’s phone out of reach until Yuuri gave up, flopping back onto the bed. 

“I want to die.” 

“He’s probably just as embarrassed as you are,” Phichit says, handing Yuuri’s phone back. Yuuri takes it and stares at Viktor’s message for a long minute and a half, before he started typing again.

“He’s probably going to fall asleep soon…” Yuuri mumbles, but continues typing. 

**_Y:_ ** _ I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I called Phichit in cause I recognized Makkachin, and he made me ask. If you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to. We were just curious.  _

_ 9:38 pm  _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ And I’m sorry for lying, too, I don’t know why I said I wasn’t international. That’s a silly thing to say when I travelled from Japan to America for school and skating…  _

_ 9:39 pm  _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ I… would like to see more pictures of Makkachin though. Unless you’d rather go to sleep, it’s after 9:30 after all… _

_ 9:40 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ No, it’s fine, I don’t mind staying up late to talk. Makkachin probably won’t like to have a photo shoot right now though. I have other pictures of her though, if you’d like!  _

_ 9:40 pm  _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ And thank you for understanding. Maybe we can talk about it again once we know each other a little better. ╰(*´♡`*)╯ _

_ 9:41 pm  _

**_VN:_** _Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet Makka, she loves meeting new people, so I know she’ll absolutely adore you!_

_ 9:43 pm  _

__ “Wow, he really likes those heart mouth emojis,” Phichit wonders, and Yuuri pushes his face away from his ear. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“I want you to stop talking, I’m trying to focus,” Yuuri replies, trying to think of a reply that wouldn’t make him sound like an idiot. 

“Ooh, you’re blushing, Yuuri, what are you thinking about?”

“Knock it off, Peach,” Yuuri grumbles. 

“Okay,” Phichit replies, silently watching Yuuri type, their shoulders pressed together. 

**_Y:_** _Sure, no problem. And I don’t mind older pictures of Makkachin; I can’t wait to meet her!_

_ 9:45 pm  _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Perfect! _ _  
_ _ 9:45 pm  _

A slew of Makkachin pictures, from when she was just a puppy, to the present bombarded Yuuri’s phone, one of them Yuuri remembered from tabloids of Viktor talking about his dog and his career. (That he distinctly remembered having poster of somewhere back home. God. let Viktor never find out he was head over heels for him when he was 12…) 

“Wow, he… has a lot of pictures of his dog,” Yuuri marvels, scrolling through them all after they stopped coming. He got a message from Viktor as he started scrolling through the 84 (EIGHTY FOUR???) odd pictures, stating he ‘had more on instagram’ and he ‘didn’t want to bombard him with all of them at once.’

“Which means he loves his dog to pieces, which means he’s a big softie,” Phichit replies, suddenly feeling like he should be taking more pictures of his hamsters.

“How is this not all of them? I need Mari to send me more pictures of Vicchan.” Yuuri sets to texting her, no doubt she was already doing her morning chores, or having a smoke or something. “What time is it in Japan right now, I’m texting her right now, there’s no way in hell I’m not sending a picture of Vicchan back, it would be rude not to at this point.”

“Uh….” Phichit, his mind a whirlwind of static as he was still trying to process Viktor’s incredible love of his dog, scrambled to action, pulling up his world clock. “11 am, almost noon.” 

“Perfect.” In seconds flat, Mari responded, about to go on her lunch break, confused as to why Yuuri needed pictures of Vicchan at 10:00 at night. 

**_Y:_ ** _ Please, I’m texting a cute guy and he just sent me 84 pictures of his dog, and now I HAVE to send something back otherwise he’ll think I’m an asshole. Please? _

_ 9:53 pm _

__ **_M:_ ** _ How cute is he? _

_ 9:54 pm _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Fucking gorgeous, Mari, please, I don’t have enough pictures of Vicchan to keep up.  _

_ 9:54 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Come on, he just sent me his insta, which apparently has MORE dog pics. _

_ Read 9:55 pm _

__

__

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Yuuri, are you there? _

_ 9:54 pm _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Uh, yeah, I was scrolling through all the pictures, there’s… a lot.  _

_ 9:54 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ I’m also trying to find a good one of Vicchan to send you, it’s only fair. _

_ 9:55 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Oh, did I overwhelm you? Sorry, I just get so excited about Makkachin… Is Vicchan your dog?  _

_ 9:55 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ My insta is VNikiforov btw, and search the tag #Makkachin for pics of Makka, some of them might be duplicates, but there’s definitely different ones on there somewhere.  _

_ 9:55 pm _

__

Mari came through with ten different pictures of Vicchan being… well, a dog, and Yuuri sent a hurried thanks before saving all of them and sending the best ones to Viktor, and several older ones. It only then occurred to him that he was already following Viktor on instagram, back when he was still a skater. 

**_Y:_ ** _ Mine is YKatsuki… Also here’s some pictures of Vicchan… I haven’t had a chance to take as many as you did, and I keep forgetting to ask my sister to send me some…  _

_ 9:59 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ No trouble at all! Our usernames match kind of… ( ´♡ ` ) _

_ 9:59 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ OMG Vicchan is so precious! Oh, I love him already. Is he a toy poodle? He can’t be a standard, he’s too small. You never said when you got him but it would be sad if you got a baby puppy right before you had to move halfway across the world… If I’m staying somewhere for a while, I always make it a point to bring Makkachin with me, but I guess you couldn’t, cause your dorm rules, huh? _

_ 10:01 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ God no, he’s at least eight, last I checked. He’s an old puppy, but I still feel bad that I couldn’t bring him with me, I hope he doesn’t resent me… _

_ 10:02 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Unless you’ve traumatized it in some way, a dog will never resent you. As long as your family gives him lots of love, and you’ve given him lots of love, he’ll greet you when you come home as though you’d only been gone 20 minutes.  _

_ 10:02 pm _

Yuuri had to put his phone down, his vision blurring with unwelcome tears at the thought of Vicchan jumping up to see him the moment he walks in the door of his family’s onsen, and Phichit wrapped him up in a tight hug, rubbing his back sympathetically. 

“You okay?” Yuuri nods, hugging him back. “Okay, take your time.” Phichit sighs, pressing his cheek to Yuuri’s head. Another notification pops up on Yuuri’s phone, and he lifts his head to check it and reply, Phichit letting him go in surprise. “That was fast. You must really like him.”

“Shut up,” Yuuri replies, still choked up. Phichit just laughs, and continues rubbing his back. 

**_VN:_ ** _ I didn’t offend you, did I? _

_ 10:04 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I just meant that Vicchan still loves you and misses you.  _

_ 10:05 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Yeah, thanks… that’s very sweet of you.  _

_ 10:07 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Sorry it took me so long to reply, I got a little teary, I just miss him a lot… _

_ 10:08 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ No problem at all! I understand why, he’s such a little cutie! He kind of matches Makkachin, too, which is kind of funny. _

_ 10:08 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I got a little choked up too, if I’m being honest. Makkachin’s my baby and I love her a lot. I don’t like leaving her alone all day, it breaks my heart...  _

_ 10:08 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Woah, that rhymed.  _

_ 10:09 pm _

“God, Yuuri, you have to keep him, he’s a big baby like you,” Phichit mumbles, and Yuuri blushes at the comment. 

“Just because he loves his dog, doesn’t mean he’s a big baby…” Yuuri replies, already typing a reply. Phichit just smiles, enjoying the show. “And I’m not a big baby, either, I’m just…. Emotional.” 

“Sure, sure…” Phichit laughs when Yuuri nudges him again. “You should tell him why you got Vicchan specifically, I bet he’ll laugh.”

“Maybe later,” Yuuri sighs. He blushes more once he gets the notification that Viktor followed him on Instagram, and was already liking photos. “Oh god… all those pictures aren’t even that good… I’m scared to see which ones he liked.” 

“Already on it,” Phichit cackled, rolling onto his back, scrolling through Yuuri’s posts. 

**_Y:_ ** _ Yeah, they do match, weird… It’s nice that you like Makkachin so much, I bet she loves you a lot, too. _

_ 10:10 pm _

__

**_VN:_** _Thank you, Yuuri, I think so, too._

_ 10:10 pm _

“He liked the one of you in the mirror at the ice rink, with your butt out,” Phichit grins, turning the phone towards him.

“Oh my god…” Yuuri didn’t look, too busy having an existential crisis. He remembered when Phichit made him post it, and he felt so stupid. They were fooling around after practice and thought it would be funny, he didn’t think anyone would actually like it…

“And the one of you laughing at the ice cream parlour,” Phichit continued. “He bookmarked that one, too. He must think you’re cute or something.”

“You took those pictures though, not me.”

“You need to update your Instagram more, all you do is scroll through other peoples…” Phichit says, as Yuuri waits for Viktor to say something else, not sure what else to talk about. 

“It’s embarrassing…” Yuuri dropped his face into his pillow, and Phichit leaned over to check Yuuri’s Instagram for him, another few notifications appearing. 

“Alright, but Viktor just liked that video of you skating from like three years ago, he definitely likes you.” Yuuri groaned. Why was Viktor scrolling through his Instagram? “Text him, maybe he’ll get distracted.” 

“What do I even say, though?”

“Talk about dogs, again. Or ask him how he got into coffee.” 

“He probably wants to go to sleep…” Yuuri grumbled, picking up his phone again, watching as another notification popped up.

**VNikiforov and 27 others liked your photo:** **_“Felt cute, might delete later.”_ **

**VNikiforov likes your photo:** **_“It finally came in the mail! ❤️”_ **

**VNikiforov commented on your photo:** **_“It finally came in the mail! ❤️”:_ ** _ “( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)” _

“Oh no…” Yuuri whispers, clicking the last notification. It was a picture of Yuuri at eighteen, posing with his favorite poster of Viktor, only just hung on the wall. Viktor was posing like he would on the ice, in the final pose of his last exhibition, but in a photo shoot for a magazine that was clearly meant to be risqué, and Yuuri had bought a print of it in a fit of indulgence, and then posted his purchase on Instagram in his excitement. Phichit leaned over his shoulder to look, his mouth forming a perfect “o” shape. “Phichit, help me, I can never face him again… oh no…”

“Why not? It’s not like he’s stalking you, if he were stalking you he would be trying not to like anything, and all the pictures he’s liking are really cute!” 

Yuuri pouts, feeling as though Viktor might be making fun of him in some way, but he couldn’t be, could he? He’s a gentle person that loves his dog to pieces, and owns a coffee shop, and disappeared from skating when he was still extremely popular. Was Viktor secretly a bad person? It seemed unlikely. 

“God, Yuuri, I can hear you doubting yourself, just text him. Here, I’ll help: ‘hey, Viktor, do you like jazz?’” Yuuri snorts and shoved Phichit’s arm again. “Okay, maybe not that. You should ask him what he enjoys doing in his spare time, though, maybe that can be a basis for another date.” 

“Maybe…” Yuuri opens up his messenger app, his fingers hovering over the buttons. “What if we don’t have anything in common, though?” 

“Seriously?”

“You’re right, I’m an idiot, I’m typing, now…”

**_Y:_ ** _ Hey, uh. I see you on my Instagram.  _

_ 10:45 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I saw me on your Instagram. You’re a fan, huh? Should have realized when you said Makkachin looked familiar. _

_ 10:45 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ God, I’m sorry, if that makes you uncomfortable you don’t have to talk to me anymore, I know you don’t want to talk about all that.  _

_ 10:46 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ No, don’t be, I don’t mind.  _

_ 10:46 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Do you want me to stop stalking your Instagram? _

_ 10:47 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ please. If you don’t mind… none of the pictures on there are flattering. Camera doesn’t like me and all that. _

_ 10:47 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I thought the one of you in the mirror was pretty cute. Ice skating has been very good to your thighs. _

_ 10:48 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ hvgxhkm:))& [Yo he’s got game pho hit no give that back ah!] _

_ 10:49 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ oh my god Phichit is sitting next to me and he took my phone… one of us must have hit the voice to text button… I’m so sorry.  _

_ 10:50 pm _

**_VN:_ ** _ It’s alright. I’ll stop looking at your insta if you really want me to… I’d rather admire you in person anyway. _

_ Read 10:51 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Oh, that’s way better than anything I could come up with, I think you win at pickup lines. _

_ 10:59 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ oh, you don’t think it’s cheesy? _

_ 11:00 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ I’ve gotta be honest here, I think you’re the only one who can hook me with the cheesiest pickup lines, and I’ve heard some very terrible ones.  _

_ 11:00 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Oh really? Can I hear one?  _

_ 11:01 pm _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ oh god hold on _

_ 11:01 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ okay _

_ 11:01 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ hey baby, you got a thermometer? Cause I think I’m catching feelings for you _

_ 11:04 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ oh my god I scared Makkachin I laughed so hard, that was unexpected.  _

_ 11:07 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ What about ‘hey cutie, you got the time? Because time stopped for me when I saw you’ _

_ 11:09 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ that one doesn’t count, it’s too cute, Phichit Awwed at me.  _

_ 11:10 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ why, did you blush?  _

_ 11:10 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Yes……. _

_ 11:15 pm _

**_VN:_ ** _ Aww…  _

_ 11:15 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ … wanna hear another? _

_ 11:16 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ shoot. _

_ 11:16 pm _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Hey babe, are you a planetarium? Cause you’re my sunshine.  _

_ 11:16 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ that one’s cute, but I think it’s supposed to be ‘hey baby, are you the sun? Cause I can’t live without you’ _

_ 11:17 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ or it could be “Are you a map of the earth? Cause you’re my world” _

_ 11:18 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Now you’ve got me blushing.  _

_ 11:18 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ oh! I just thought of another one! _

_ 11:18 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Are you a drum? Cause I’d hit that. Budum tsss _

_ 11:19 pm _

__

**_Y:_ ** _ You made Phichit fall out of my bed, I don’t think either of us has heard that one before.  _

_ 11:22 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Well yeah, I just made it up.  _

_ 11:22 pm _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ the cymbal noise at the end really makes it.  _

_ 11:22 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I would hope so.  _

_ 11:23 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ So uh… how’d you get into the cafe business? _

_ 11:27 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Sorry, i started dozing, I’m really not used to staying up this late.  _

_ 11:45 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Cafe business, huh? Uh, well I got out of business school and decided I liked coffee enough to start a cafe, I guess. _

_ 11:47 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Oh, okay.  _

_ 11:48 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ you can go to bed if you really want, I don’t mind. If you have work tomorrow I don’t want to make you late…. _

_ 11:48 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I can stay up a little longer, I think. I don’t want to assume, but I feel like this might encapsulate a lot of our… nightly escapades.  _

_ 11:50 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Saucy. _

_ 11:54 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) _

_ 11:54 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ What were you going to do after college, besides ice skating? _

_ 11:55 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ I hope you realize how much I hate that question.  _

_ 11:55 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Oh my god, tell me about it. You said you were a dance major? As a retired professional ice dancer, I honestly didn’t know that was a thing.  _

_ 11:57 pm _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Yeah, I’ve gotten a few uh… choice opinions that I should change my major from total strangers. I was thinking about opening a dance studio later on, like my previous coach and dance teacher. She’s a family friend, and she’s like a second mom. Or a vodka aunt… (She owns a bar AND a barre. Ha ha, ballet humor.) I am also taking some courses to help with the small business side of running a ballet studio, at least... _

_ 11:58 pm _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ A solid career choice. I support you all the way. Where were you planning on opening your studio? (God, I miss ballet. Good joke, too.) _

_ 11:59 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Probably in my home town, I think, so I can help with my family’s onsen once in a while. It’s a nice cozy place to retire, too. Still not sure whether or not I’ll rent above the studio or find a nice private house near the beach to rent, though… (Mind coming to dance practice with me, one day? Or will people recognize you, do you think?) _

_ 11:59 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Onsen is a hot spring, right? (I would love to. Maybe if I pretend I’m bad at ballet no one will see the resemblance.) _

_ 11:59 pm _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Yeah, we have a bar, too. My mom makes the best food, it’s one of our main attractions. My favorite’s her Katsudon, but I have a special diet, so I can’t eat it as often as I like.  _

_ 12:00 am _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Oh, I’ll have to visit sometime, then! Are there any places here that sell Katsudon? _

_ 12:02 am _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Yeah, but none of them are as good, I’ve tried…  _

_ 12:02 am _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ What about your ‘special diet?’ Σ（・□・；） _

_ 12:03 _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ It’s my comfort food, I had... a bad day, but there weren’t any good places with good Katsudon, so I video chatted with Vicchan instead… And Phichit made boxed mac and cheese with “special secret Thai seasonings” which was pretty good.  _

_ Read 12:06 pm _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ God, I’m sorry, it’s really really late. I promise I’m not ignoring you. I should probably say goodnight, otherwise Makkachin will try to drag me out of bed in the morning for her morning walk. I’ll see you tomorrow! ♡♡♡  _

_ 12:23 am _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Goodnight… _

_ 12:24 am _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Sweet dreams, beautiful ♡ _

_ 12:24 am _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Yeah, you… you too... _

_ 12:24 am _

__ **_Y: ..._ ** _ ♡ _

_ 12:25 am _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ ( ´♡ ` ) _

_ 12:25 am _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Why is the heart emoji so cute _

_ 12:26 am _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I know, I love how cute it looks. I’m told it matches my more genuine smiles… I’ve never gotten to see it, though... _

_ 12:26 am _

__

__ **_Y:_ ** _ I think your smile is nice, though… makes your whole face light up like the sun, it’s adorable. Or was that your customer service smile? Either way you have a nice smile. _

_ 12:27 am _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ No, I think I gave you a genuine smile. Like I said before, even though we were joking around, time truly stopped for me when I met you…  _

_ 12:28 am _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ I think I was too stunned by your beauty at the time, but thank you... and I’m flattered, but it’s 12:30 and we already said goodnight… I still need to send Phichit back to his own room, too, he fell asleep like an hour ago... _

_ 12:31 am _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Right, sorry. I just really enjoy talking to you… _

_ 12:31 am _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ I don’t want you to be late for work because of me… _

_ 12:31 am _

__

__ **_VN:_ ** _ I can go in a little late, I have a different opener this morning… And two more baristas, too, Sundays are a little busy sometimes…  _

_ 12:32 am _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ But I see your point… _

_ 12:39 am _

__ **_VN:_ ** _ Goodnight again, Yuuri ( ´♡ ` ) _

_ 12:40 am _

__ **_Y:_ ** _ Goodnight… ( ´♡ ` ) _

_ Read 12:40 am _

__ Yuuri set his phone on his bedside table, and dropped his head into the pillow with a sigh. If you told him yesterday that he’d be going on a date on Sunday with Viktor Nikiforov, he would have laughed and then probably cried sometime later that evening, believing that not only was it not true, but that you were incredibly rude to assume that Yuuri would fall for a joke like that in his 20s. But here he was, 21, and with four separate conversations with the man in one day, already behind him, with more to come. He really needed sleep… But first, he had to kick Phichit out of his room. 

“Peach, you have to go to your own room,” Yuuri grumbles, nudging Phichit’s elbow. Phichit stirs, but not enough. “Come on, before I push you back onto the floor. There’s not room for both of us to sleep comfortably…”

“But iss comfortable in heeere,” Phichit groans, but gets up anyway. “Did Viktor go to sleep?”

“Yeah, and I want to sleep now, too.” Yuuri leans out of bed to retrieve the pillow he liked to hold while he slept, and then settled back under his blankets with a soft ‘fwump’. Phichit made a small sound of assent, and mumbled a goodnight as he shuffled back to his room. That was easy, Yuuri thought, dozing peacefully. He dreamt that Viktor was beside him, whispering soft things into his ear, a quiet dream that Yuuri hadn’t had in a while. He didn’t remember what had happened in the dream when he woke up, only that it was fairly pleasant. He hoped he would have another like it again later that night. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first date! Phichit is very proud of them. 
> 
> “Yuuri, your boyfriend is here!” Phichit calls back into the apartment, and a large thud and several smaller ones from the other side of the apartment startles both of them. After a few seconds of silence and a strangled ‘okay!’, Phichit turns back to Viktor’s concerned expression with a smile. “He’ll be right out.” Viktor blinks and turns to Phichit with a nervous smile. “You look great, is that your business suit or your date night suit?”  
> “Uh, my date night suit, and thank you,” Viktor says, glancing down at his suit and fixing the jacket and dusting it off. “There’s dog fur all over it still, even though I just lint rolled it four times…” Phichit made an impressed sound, leaning on the door frame.  
> “It looks nice, though. I’m sure Yuuri won’t mind the dog fur. Armani?”  
> “No, actually, Brunello Cucinelli. Little more expensive, but I like it. Comfortable, too.”

Viktor barely made it through the breakfast rush. 

His staff kept catching him daydreaming, floating through the day with dreamy smiles and distracted replies. No one was quite sure was happening to their boss, so all of them were fairly concerned. Except Yuri, whom was running out of patience.

_ “Viktor, the cup is overflowing!” _

_ “Oops!”  _

_ “Um, I ordered this-” _

_ “Sorry, I’ll make another one!” _

_ “I’ll make another one, Viktor, go help Yuri so he doesn’t mess up his order.” _

_ “Yuuri? Where?!” _

__ Phichit appeared around ten o’clock, and Viktor nearly fell over to reach the counter in time, startling him. He searched behind him for Yuuri, but he was nowhere to be found. 

“No Yuuri, today, sorry, Viktor. He slept in again, and I couldn’t wake him up,” Phichit explains, waving his hand in front of Viktor’s face. Viktor’s expression fell only slightly, his spirit still high on knowing he had the whole rest of the day to look forward to. “I’ll tell him to text you when he wakes up. He has to get up soon anyway.”

“Right, of course,” Viktor said, still distracted. “What’ll it be today?” 

“Mm, Yuuri’s Honey Lemon Ginseng, and if you could ask Yuri- your cousin - to make me a latte, he knows how I like it. Vanilla and caramel with whole milk and three sugars, please.” Viktor wrote it down hurriedly, nodding along. 

“Okay, will there be anything else?”

“Mmn, nope, just that,” Phichit smiled, getting his cash ready.

“Alright, four dollars,” Viktor replies, plugging it into the cash register. Phichit stops, and counts up the total in his head. 

“I’m not paying for Yuuri’s tea?” he asks, frowning. “I feel like I should pay for that.”

“No, he already paid more than enough yesterday. I put his ten in the tip jar for my employees, but it’s fine, you don’t have to worry about it. On the house, I can afford it.” Phichit opened his mouth to protest, but Viktor held his hand up to stop him. “Four dollars.” After a minor emotional crisis, Phichit finally gave him only four dollars, and Viktor beamed and put it in the register, before turning to make the coffee. Another barista, one with flaming red hair appeared behind him, popping her gum. 

“Hey, Phichit, you look good today, how’s it hangin’?” She smiled, and Phichit shrugged, taking out three and a half dollars for Yuuri’s tea and shoving it in her hand. “Oh, okay, you haven’t ordered anything though.”

“Oh, hey, Mila… Yeah, I have, Viktor just rang me out. You know he’s delusional, right? He wouldn’t let me pay for Yuuri’s tea, and I feel weird about it, so if you could just ring me up for that... Does he always give out free stuff to people he’s dating?” Mila blinked in a dawning of understanding, and plugged the three dollars in before Viktor could see, to Phichit’s relief.

“No, is he dating anyone? That must explain his weird mood today, I’ve never seen him act like this.” Phichit did a double take, and turned to look at Viktor, who was humming to himself while he made Yuuri’s tea, his hips bouncing in time. “Oh, Yuuri you mean? Really?” Mila whispered, leaning forward a bit. 

“Yeah, they were texting each other until after midnight, last night,” Phichit replied, returning his wallet to his pocket. Mila turned back to look at Viktor, who was still making Yuuri’s tea, taking his sweet time. “He’s really never acted like that before?” 

“No, not that I remember. He must have fallen  _ hard _ . Oh, I have to take the next customer, sorry, Phichit. Maybe we can talk later.” Phichit nodded and turned to the pick up counter, where Yuri was waiting with his latte. 

“See ya,” he waved, and went to talk to Yuri, who was shooting glances at his cousin. “How are you today, Yuri, still giving Viktor trouble?”

“I’d like to, but he’s pissing me off, being all kissy face over that fake Yuri…” Yuri grumbles, as Phichit takes his latte. “It’s weird, and I don’t like it.”

“Well at least he’s happy. Yuuri’s still processing this whole thing…” Phichit sips his latte, considering the flavor for a minute. “Mm, extra foam today?” He takes another sip, glancing over at Viktor. 

“Yeah, sorry, Viktor bumped me while I was foaming the milk, I got… distracted,” Yuri blushed, embarrassed. Phichit hadn’t even noticed Yuri at all, maybe he was working on being less angry in front of the hoards of customers that kept streaming in. Or maybe it was just loud enough that he hadn’t heard his outburst. “I can fix it, if you want.”

“No, it’s perfect, I don’t mind. Here, I had this ready for you,” Phichit said, pulling another ten from his pocket, with a sticky note attached to it that said ‘For Yuri,’ and stuck it in the tip jar. “Great service today, I appreciate it.” Yuri stared at it, and then back at Phichit.

“What, are you rich, or something?” he asked, and Phichit laughed. 

“I wish. If I were rich I’d be able to tip every day. Try your best to be nice to your customers, Yuri, I promise, it pays well.” Yuri nodded, and Viktor appeared with Yuuri’s tea, holding it out for Phichit to take. Yuri ducked out of the way, taking another order from Mila. “Hey, it’s lover boy!” 

“Here you go, made with extra love,” Viktor beamed, and Phichit nodded, taking the cup. 

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it,” Phichit smiled, raising his latte in a half toast, half wave. “What time are you done?” 

“Same time, why?”

“Dunno, just asking. Surprised you got up early enough for first shift, after Yuuri kept you up all night.” Viktor shrugged, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. 

“Makka needs her walk, you know? And coffee is a powerful thing. Why do you think I opened a coffee shop?” 

“I’ll drink to that,” Phichit laughed. “I gotta get back to the apartment, thanks Viktor!” Viktor waves him out, and stands there for a minute in silence, until Yuri nudges him aside to call for another finished order. Viktor returns to work in a frenzy, more focused now that he had an hour left of work. He left his baristas for his office after about twenty minutes to make some important phone calls, still giddy with excitement for his date later that day. He could hardly wait to give Yuuri the moon and more.

Yuuri trudged to the kitchen well rested, a rare occurrence on a Sunday morning, and he hoped he could thank whatever dream he had last night. Or sleeping till 10:30, that always helped. With almost ten hours of sleep out of the way and a date later that afternoon, he could safely say he was in a good mood as he started his usual morning meal of eggs, toast and a small, strawberry protein shake. 

Phichit arrived not 10 minutes later, as Yuuri was just sitting down on the couch to start eating, having downed his shake the moment he finished cooking his eggs. Phichit set Yuuri’s tea on the coffee table and plopped down next to him, his latte half gone already. Yuuri frowned at the tea, then turned to Phichit, who was scrolling through Instagram quietly. 

“You went to Zoloto?” 

“Mmmh, Viktor made your tea with ‘extra love’, he says. I promised I’d tell you to text him when you got up.” 

“You paid for it right?” Phichit nods. 

“Viktor tried to make it free, and as a college student, free stuff is my life, but if I can afford it, I’ll pay for it. Viktor doesn’t know, though, that I paid for it, I think.” Yuuri blushes and sits up to take the tea, smelling it carefully before he took a sip. 

“Thank you,” he says, settling back into the couch. Butterflies started in his stomach when his thoughts drifted towards Viktor, and he took another sip of tea to try and quell them, and finished his eggs. Phichit seemed to notice his anxiety and turned to lay his legs over Yuuri’s lap in support. “Thanks, Phichit,” Yuuri whispered, and Phichit grunted in response. 

“No problem.” Phichit sipped his latte, leaning back on the arm of the couch. “You nervous?” 

“So nervous… never been on a date with someone this hot before…” Phichit snorts. 

“Neither have I, but you have nothing to worry about, babe, he is ridiculously in love with you. His employees were worried he was ill, he was so distracted.” Yuuri sighs, slouching into the couch.

“He sent me a good morning text at seven in the morning… I hope he wasn’t too tired…”

“Nah, he was chipper and wide awake. I think he was humming your free skate song from last season while he made your tea.” 

“No!” Yuuri looks at him in shock. 

“Yes!” Phichit replies, nudging him with his foot. “He likes you, Yuuri, he really does.” 

“I’m not going to survive this day,” Yuuri wails, rubbing his face with his free hand. 

“Yes you will… You’ll have a nice date with Viktor, and you’ll come home refreshed and in love, unable to wait for the second one. I’d say you don’t have to come home tonight, but it  _ is  _ only the first date.” Yuuri nearly chokes on his tea. “Sorry, you okay?” 

“Yeah. Please don’t talk about stuff like that right now, it’ll just make me more nervous…”

“What, sex?” Yuuri turns to glare at him, only barely stopping himself from spitting out his tea in Phichit’s face by accident. “Right, sorry. Understood.” 

“I refuse to even think about it until at least the third date, maybe fourth. Tenth, if we get there. I’m too jittery right now to consider something like that on the first date, it’s embarrassing and awkward to talk about, and we don’t even know each other that well…”

“I understand, Yuuri, I won’t bring it up again,” Phichit says, standing and patting his shoulder on his way to throw out his empty cup. 

“Thank you,” Yuuri replies, sitting back up to finish his tea. Phichit returned with a banana, and Yuuri decided to change the subject. “What time did he say? 3?” He asks, going through his messages with Viktor. 

“I think, yeah,” Phichit says, through a mouthful. “Or maybe it was 1:00…” 

“Yeah, 1,” Yuuri mutters, and takes a large gulp of his tea. “I need a shower….” 

“Right now? You have-” Phichit checks the time on his phone “-two hours, you usually only need one,” Phichit says, as Yuuri gets up and heads to the bathroom. 

“I need time to think. And stuff.”

“Since when do you do ‘and stuff?’” Phichit calls, wondering wildly what exactly ‘and stuff’ could mean. Yuuri ignores him and locks himself in the bathroom, the shower already running. “Don’t use up all the hot water!” 

Viktor arrives in a pink tinted, black stretch limousine, after double checking the address several times with Yuuri, and arrives at the door with a bouquet of roses at 12:55 exactly. Phichit answers the door, Yuuri still in his room, psyching himself up. Viktor was dressed in a well fitted suit; a grey jacket that matched his hair, matching slacks and freshly shined black shoes, a white shirt that was almost blinding, a blue and grey striped tie, and a loose fitting, blue waistcoat. And were those diamonds in the buttons? And pink chapstick? If he squinted, he could see just a little bit of glitter blush. Phichit nearly didn’t recognize him. That, and the bouquet was blocking his face. 

“Yuuri, your boyfriend is here!” Phichit calls back into the apartment, and a large thud and several smaller ones from the other side of the apartment startles both of them. After a few seconds of silence and a strangled ‘okay!’, Phichit turns back to Viktor’s concerned expression with a smile. “He’ll be right out.” Viktor blinks and turns to Phichit with a nervous smile. “You look great, is that your business suit or your date night suit?” 

“Uh, my date night suit, and thank you,” Viktor says, glancing down at his suit and fixing the jacket and dusting it off. “There’s dog fur all over it still, even though I just lint rolled it four times…” Phichit made an impressed sound, leaning on the door frame. 

“It looks nice, though. I’m sure Yuuri won’t mind the dog fur. Armani?”

“No, actually, Brunello Cucinelli. Little more expensive, but I like it. Comfortable, too.” 

“Hm, cool, cool.” Yuuri appears seconds later with his hair slicked back, and wearing his best sweater; a soft blue one with knitted cords, his most comfortable black dress slacks. His own dress shoes brown and a little scratched. The moment he saw Viktor he nearly tripped over one of the nearest hamster balls that was lying around, and Viktor gasped at the sight of him. 

“Yuuri, you’re beautiful,” Viktor breathed, and Phichit let him in, much to Yuuri’s rising horror. 

“Viktor, you’re…. So dressed up!” Yuuri says, starstruck. He looked like he walked out of a magazine! He righted himself, his cheeks coloring in embarrassment. Viktor stepped forward and handed him the roses, which he took and stared at in disbelief. 

“I… I wanted to make a good impression,” Viktor blushed, fixing his jacket. Yuuri looked up at him, inexplicably unable to close his mouth. Viktor gently reached up to tuck a loose hair behind Yuuri’s ear, and Yuuri closed his mouth, blushing more. Phichit leaned against the arm of the couch, grinning from ear to ear. “You’re... so beautiful...”

“You said that already…” Yuuri says, looking back down at the roses. He catches sight of the diamonds on Viktor’s buttons and steps back to get a better look at Viktor’s outfit, an intense expression on his face. Viktor waits patiently, licking his lips nervously. 

“Is something wrong?” Yuuri holds his hand to his mouth, and shakes his head. “Is- is it too much? What if I took the tie and jacket off, would that be better?” Yuuri shakes his head again, then looks down at himself. “Oh. Oh, I’m sorry, here. Uh.” Viktor reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone and wallet, and started taking off his tie. 

“Wait!” Yuuri exclaimed, holding his hands out for him to stop, and Viktor froze, a deer in the headlights, not sure what to do. Phichit looks between them, only kind of certain as to what was happening. Yuuri grimaces awkwardly, then bolts back into his bedroom, nimbly avoiding the hamster ball. Viktor watches him go, and Phichit face palms, and gets up to follow him. 

“What…” 

“Hold on, he’s… He just needs a minute.”

“Was the suit-” 

“No, the suit was perfect, he loves it. Just… wait here,” Phichit says, leaving Viktor stranded in the living room, his tie half undone. 

“Yuuri, come on, let me in,” Phichit calls, jiggling the doorknob. Viktor leans over to look down the hall, just in time to see the door close behind Phichit. All he could hear was muffled panicking, so he turned to look around the living room, returning his wallet and phone to his pocket, and spotted the hamster ball on the floor. He picked it up and inspected it, before setting it on the dining room table across the room. It was a nice apartment, he thought to himself, idly wondering how they were paying for rent. He spotted a loose magazine stuffed under one of the couch pillows and grew curious, checking again down the hall, where the yelling had stopped, before picking up the magazine, and straightening out the cover. 

ICE Magazine, the title proclaimed, in thin blue letters, tiny white ice skates hanging in the C. Yuuri was featured on the front of it, dressed in a dark blue, velvet suit jacket, his hair slicked back, and his glasses were missing. At first glance, he looked calm and… very sexy. But the longer Viktor looked, the more uncomfortable Yuuri seemed. Viktor had never enjoyed photo shoots either, he remembered, reading the titles of featured articles that were on the front. He checked the date: March 2013. So this was taken not that long ago, actually, he thought, looking back up to study Yuuri’s picture. About a month before, he assumed... He heard the door to Yuuri’s room open, and he panicked and tossed the magazine back onto the couch, Yuuri’s picture face down. He hoped they wouldn’t notice.

Phichit appeared, and Yuuri not far behind him, still wearing what he had been before. (Viktor had thought Yuuri was changing, perhaps because he thought Viktor didn’t like his outfit, which was ridiculous; Yuuri looked stunning!) Yuuri avoided his gaze, and Phichit returned to his post by the couch. 

“Sorry about that, Yuuri was just worried that he would look bad next to you in his sweater. I told him that you wouldn’t care, and that you already told him he was beautiful.” Yuuri looks up at Viktor, who was looking at him with a gentle expression, his lips turned down in a concerned frown. Yuuri looked away again, clasping his fingers together together tightly. “Am I right?” 

“Well, yeah,” Viktor splutters, stepping forward to take Yuuri’s hands, covering the distance between them in two long strides. Yuuri let’s him take his hands from where he had them clasped, and looked up at him anxiously while Viktor inspected his white knuckles. “Where do I even begin, Yuuri, you’re gorgeous!” Yuuri nibbles his lip, and looks away, embarrassed. “I love your outfit, Yuuri, it’s- it suits you, and it looks very comfortable.” Yuuri looks up again, his gaze turned bitter. Surprised and a little bit confused, Viktor tried something else. “Would- you rather we switch? My suit might be a little big on you, and I’m not sure if your pants will fit me, but-“ Yuuri laughs quietly, and Viktor stops, his cheeks flushing. “Yuuri?”

“No, it’s- your- I like your suit, but I don’t think it’s really my style…” Yuuri mutters, his shy smile making Viktor’s heart melt. “I just… people are gonna think I’m nuts, or you’re nuts, you going in a three piece and me in a cable knit sweater to a fancy seafood restaurant…” he looks away again, and Viktor brings his hands to his lips, kissing them gently. Yuuri takes one back to cover his mouth to hide a brighter smile, and Viktor does it again, making his entire face blush. 

“So what?” Viktor breathes, and Phichit has to lean in to hear, already on the edge of his seat. “Let people think we’re nuts. I think you look pretty. ...Do you  _ feel  _ pretty?” Yuuri pauses a moment, but nods slowly, glancing at him. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,  _ Zoloste… _ I think you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever met.” Yuuri looks up at him, his eyes glittering as he searched Viktor’s face. Viktor smiles, and kisses Yuuri’s hand again, lingering there for a moment to let his words sink in. Phichit silently slinks off to the kitchen to give them some space, suddenly feeling like he was intruding. Yuuri didn’t seem to notice, his heartbeat louder than his anxiety as Viktor stared at him with all the tenderness he had ever dreamed of. 

“You’re… you should fix your tie,” Yuuri whispers as Viktor lowers his hand, his thumb gently rubbing his fingers, breaking Viktor out of his own trance. 

“What?” 

“Your tie, you started untying it a few minutes ago.” Viktor blinks and looks down at his tie blankly, before dropping Yuuri’s hand to fix it, blushing to himself.

“Thank you,” Viktor smiles, Yuuri watching his hands none too subtly. Oblivious, Viktor continued. “I’d completely forgotten about that.” 

“You’re welcome,” Yuuri breathed, glancing back up at Viktor’s face. “How… fancy is this restaurant?” Yuuri asks curiously, and Viktor breathes a silent sigh of relief; Yuuri still wanted to go on the date!

“I mean, I’m a little overdressed,” Viktor admits, tucking his tie back into his waistcoat. “But I feel pretty, so I thought I’d be overdressed.” Yuuri nods, relaxing a little more. 

“Okay, I guess if you’re more fancy than the restaurant and I’m a little less fancy-”

“Oh no, you’re the perfect amount of fancy, Yuuri, don’t you worry,” Viktor assures, and Yuuri frowns at him, confused. Viktor smiles, and takes offers his hand again. Yuuri takes it, not sure what was happening anymore. “Can I ask you something really quick?”

“Uhhh…” Now Yuuri was really confused. “I… I guess?” He said, as Viktor struggles to keep a straight face. “Viktor?”

“Yuuri,” Viktor breathes, trying his best to sound sexy, but Yuuri could hear him trying not to laugh as he leaned in close to Yuuri’s ear. “Are you a drum?”

“Oh my god.”

“Cause I’d hit that.” Yuuri looked at him, now trying to hide his own smile, doing his very best to look annoyed. Viktor’s smile broke, and he licked his lips before Yuuri heard;

“Budum  _ Tsssss.”  _

_ “Viktor.” _ Viktor laughed into his shoulder, and Yuuri couldn’t help but snort when he heard Phichit cackling from the other room. “God, let’s just go to the restaurant, this is embarrassing.” 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Viktor grinned, rather proud of himself as he let Yuuri lead the way out of the apartment, still holding each other’s hand. Yuuri would never admit it ever to Phichit, but his face was tomato red the entire way to the restaurant, because not only had he  _ actually  _ found Viktor attempting to make him laugh with that stupid pickup line the most adorable and sexy thing he’d ever experienced, but when Viktor laughed, he’d seen his infamous heart shaped smile, and his heart lurched at how beautiful it had been. 

“This… is actually really nice,” Yuuri admits to himself, halfway through his meal, and currently watching Viktor trying to balance a spoon on his nose. His determination was adorable, but the spoon kept slipping off the end of his nose, and each time it fell he would swear that it would stay the next. Yuuri stopped him after the fifth try, as he was starting to attract an audience. “I’m having fun.”

The restaurant  _ was _ fancy, or about as fancy as a seafood restaurant could be. He was honestly expecting something so upscale and expensive that even Viktor couldn’t afford it, but instead it was just a fancier version of Red Lobster. Not that Yuuri had ever been; it had never been in his budget. 

“Oh really?” Viktor smiled, replacing the spoon to it’s place beside his plate. Yuuri nods, reaching for his glass of water. “What’s been your favorite part so far?”

“Well… I have to say watching you trying to balance a spoon on your nose,” Yuuri says, and Viktor laughs good naturedly. “The food is incredible… the music... isn’t overwhelming,” He says, sipping his water, and gesturing subtly towards the violinist standing in the corner. Viktor leans forward on the table and smiles, his chin resting in his hands, his own plate unfinished, as well. “I’m sorry I had to say no to dessert, I’m already so full. Must have been the protein shake I had earlier, sorry, I didn’t really think about it…”

“No trouble at all, Yuuri, I’m just glad we’re both enjoying ourselves,” Viktor replied, as a waiter appeared beside their table. 

“Is everything to your liking, sirs?” He asked, and Viktor turned to Yuuri, who found he was actually in the emotional capacity to reply honestly. 

“Perfect, thank you,” he beamed, and Viktor grinned to himself, the sight of Yuuri’s bright smile making him feel warm. “I was wondering if I could get a box, though, I don’t know if I’ll finish this all at once, it’s so rich…” 

“Yes, absolutely. Would you like one, too?” The waiter turned to Viktor, who was in the middle of admiring Yuuri over his glass of wine. He nodded, setting the glass aside. 

“Yes, and the check, if you don’t mind. You’re sure you don’t want anything else from here, Yuuri?” Yuuri nodded, fixing his glasses. 

“Alright, I’ll bring that out for you in a moment.”

“Thank you,” Yuuri and Viktor chorused as the waiter walked away. The two met eyes and laughed brightly, Viktor placing his hand on Yuuri’s tenderly. Yuuri blushed and reached for his water again. 

“I was trying to think of what movies we could go see, but I wasn’t sure what you liked,” Viktor began, and Yuuri lit up at the idea, having totally forgotten about that idea. “I was looking through the ones currently playing, and-”

“I thought  _ The Frankenstein Theory _ looked kind of interesting,” Yuuri interrupted, and Viktor blinked at him in surprise. “It’s based on the idea that Frankenstein might have actually happened. Sorry, I interrupted, you can continue,” Yuuri finished quietly, sinking back into his chair. 

“Oh, I was just going to suggest  _ Oz, The Great And Powerful, _ it looked like a fun movie, and… And I enjoyed  _ The Wizard of Oz _ when I was little, if you can believe that.” Viktor blushed into his wine, not exactly a fan of horror movies. It was Yuuri’s turn to be surprised. 

“I never pegged you as a musical theatre guy,” Yuuri said, and Viktor nodded. “Or, at least, I never pictured you as a  _ Wizard of Oz _ guy, more of a  _ Phantom of the Opera _ or… or  _ Les Mis _ or  _ Into The Woods _ .”

“I like all of those,” Viktor replied, smiling into his wine. “Don’t forget  _ Wicked, The Sound Of Music _ ,  _ Singing in the Rain… _ ” 

“ _ Sweeny Todd? _ ” Yuuri asked, and Viktor shook his head. 

“Too sad for me, I cried when I went to see that one,” Viktor replies, swirling his wine. “Kind of grossed me out, too, with the… pies…” He shudders, and Yuuri nods solemnly.

“So I’m guessing  _ Jekyll and Hyde _ is out, too?” Viktor nodded sadly. “What about  _ Hello Dolly?” _

__ “Oh my  _ God. _ ”

“ _ Mamma Mia? _ ” 

“Here we go again…” Yuuri laughs out loud, and Viktor sniggers into his wine glass. 

“Hmm…” Yuuri thought for a moment, knowing for a fact that there was another one that Viktor might like, but he couldn’t remember it off the top of his head. “This is a stretch, but  _ The King and the Skater? _ It’s a Thai musical that Phichit likes. I could probably sing a few of the songs from memory I’ve sat through it with him so many times...”

“ _ The King and I, _ I’ve heard of, but not that, sorry.” Viktor replies, frowning. 

“That’s it, that’s the one I’ve been trying to remember!” 

“God yes, I love that one, I cried when I watched that one, too.” 

“Me too,” Yuuri admits, looking down at his plate. They fall silent for another few seconds, in which Yuuri debates the movie idea again. “What if... we compromise and watch a horror movie that we’ll both enjoy, and  _ Oz, The Great And Powerful _ ? I’ll pay for  _ Oz _ , if you want to pay for the horror movie?” Yuuri suggests, just as the waiter returns with their boxes and the bill. 

“Thank you,” Viktor says, accepting the bill, and the waiter smiles and leaves them alone again. “That sounds like a good idea, actually,” he says, pulling the wallet out of his pocket to pay for their meal. Yuuri starts to pull out his wallet too, but Viktor waves him away. “I’ve got this one. If you really want to, you can pay for the movie.” Yuuri glances down at the black service book, then down at his plate of unfinished seafood. That, he could live with. Movie tickets were cheaper than this.

“I can pull up the showtimes for the nearest movie theater,” Yuuri says instead, and Viktor nods, sipping his wine and opening up the service book to insert his card. He almost didn’t look at the price at the bottom, money really no object, but he saw it anyway, and choked on his wine. Yuuri looked up from his phone in a panic and stood to help, but Viktor waved him off, quickly closing the service book before he could see. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, fine,” Viktor coughed, and Yuuri was very aware of the other people in the restaurant that were staring at them as he sat back down. Viktor cleared his throat and frowned at the small book in his hands, debating whether or not to skip the movie. Money was no object, but that was before he found out how much he could spend in one evening if he wasn’t paying attention.

“What? How much is it?” Yuuri asks, suddenly scared of the answer, and concerned for Viktor’s overall health. Viktor wheezed, the back of his throat burning something terrible. He double checked that he wasn’t choking anymore before he reached for his glass of water, obviously avoiding the question. “Viktor, I know for a fact I got one of the cheapest things on the menu without resorting to the kids menu, how much is our bill?” 

“I’ll tell you once I’ve paid it,” Viktor promises, coming up for air and leaning back in his chair. “It’s okay, I can afford it,” he said, snatching the folder away before Yuuri could take a peek. 

“You choked on your wine, Viktor,” Yuuri said, growing more concerned. 

“I was just surprised, is all,” Viktor says, guiltily taking a peek at the bill again, and avoiding Yuuri’s gaze. “I’ve never really looked at how much I usually spent on things, since I just have so much…” But that begs the question; how the hell had he managed to spend $400 dollars on one lunch date? They hadn’t even gone to the movies yet… If he rounded that up with the chauffeur rental (He already had the car, but his guy was out of town on vacation) and the masseuse that he had to pay extra, that was at least almost … $2000… Plus the roses… and the extra tips he gave the waiter and the host for a secluded table… Definitely $3000… He sighed and double checked the bill again, and triple checked it, all too aware of Yuuri’s worried gaze across the table. He hoped Yuuri wouldn’t be angry with him. He checked the bill again, just to be sure. Yup, the wine was what did him in. He only asked for one bottle though… And Yuuri didn’t even have any... Which was fair; he probably had school and skating practice tomorrow…

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Yuuri whispers, as Viktor reaches for the wine bottle to top off his glass.

“Of course, beautiful,” Viktor replies, smiling reassuringly, his voice fairly scratchy. “Did you decide on the movie you wanted to see?” Yuuri was about to reply when the waiter returned, and Viktor greeted him with a brighter smile. 

“Are we all set?” The waiter asked, none the wiser as to what had just happened, and Viktor held out the bill. “Perfect, I’ll be right back with this.” Viktor turned back to Yuuri, who was leaning on the table anxiously.

“What movie did you pick?” Viktor asks again, hoping the change in subject would get Yuuri’s mind off the price of their meal.

“ _Oz the Great and Powerful_ ,” Yuuri replies, and Viktor cocks his head in confusion. “There’s nothing good showing until next month. The only actual horror movie besides _The Frankenstein Theory,_ which still looks interesting is _Come Out and Play,_ and I don’t want you to get scared too bad… I don’t even want to watch it. Plus I think one movie might be enough, unless you really want to watch the scary ghost children movie or the scary Frankenstein movie…” 

“Oh, oh no, I think I’ll pass on the scary children, then, nuh uh, no thank you.” Yuuri nodded in agreement. “So  _ Oz, the Great and Powerful _ ? That’s your final answer?” 

“Yes,” Yuuri smiles, confident in his choice. “Next month, though, I’m taking you to see a horror movie, so be ready,” and Viktor giggled with anticipation. “What?”

“You’re going to want to be around me that long?” Viktor’s smile widened with tender affection. Yuuri blushed, nodding with confidence. 

“You’re… fun, I guess, which is the whole truth,” he defended. Yuuri leaned over their takeout boxes, and Viktor followed his lead, a playful smile dancing on his lips. Yuuri’s own trembled as he took a breath to whisper across the distance between them. “I hope I’m not being too forward, though, I just really want to bring you to see a good horror movie that both of us can stomach…” 

“No, that’s fair,” Viktor replied, taking both of Yuuri’s hands in his own. “I want to take you places and do things with you, too.” Yuuri held them back, the physical contact making the butterflies in his stomach return. Viktor brought his hands to his lips and kissed his knuckles gently, his own heart skipping a beat; he had Yuuri’s undivided attention. 

“Here you are,” the waiter startled them, and Yuuri jumped back into his chair as if Viktor had bit him. “Have a wonderful evening!” Viktor accepted the receipt and his card back, and pulled two hundred dollars out of his wallet to leave as the tip as the waiter left. He sighed, and turned to check on Yuuri. 

“You alright?” Viktor wondered. Yuuri nodded and stood, smoothing down his sweater. Viktor followed suit, pocketing his wallet.

“He scared me, is all,” Yuuri replied, and grabbed his phone and the leftovers from the table, Viktor chuckling to himself. 

“Me, too. Hey, when’s the next showing of our movie start?” Viktor asks, his question riding on the waves of Yuuri’s buoyant laughter as they weaved between the tables, on their way out of the restaurant. 

“Um, I think in about 45 minutes...,” Yuuri replies, checking the time. Viktor nodded, and took his phone out to call his chauffeur. “At the BelAir Luxury Cinema, about a twenty minute drive from here, it’s the closest I could find. That gives us time for tickets, maybe snacks, and going to find our seats.” Viktor thanks the host on their way out and holds the door open for Yuuri, who blushes at the gesture. Viktor leads him off to the side, where the limo arrives in less than two minutes.

“Thanks, Emil,” Viktor calls, as he slides back into the car after Yuuri. Yuuri leans back awkwardly against the doctored leather, still not used to sitting in such a fancy vehicle. The seats were black, and the seams and stitches were all pink, the interior besides the seats more sparkly black leather. How had Viktor done this?

“No problem, Vik,” the driver replied, and Viktor slid up the seat to give him the address to the theater. They started driving, and Viktor slid back, closing the panel between them and the driver for privacy, and fixed his jacket. 

“Little bit overdressed for the movies,” Yuuri teased, and Viktor laughed softly as he settled into the seat next to him. 

“I’ll leave my jacket and waistcoat in the car,” Viktor promised, that last glass of wine starting to make his head buzz pleasantly. “Sit back, enjoy yourself, Yuuri,” he sighed, scooting an inch to the side so Yuuri would lie back. Yuuri looked back at him, his chest tight with anxiety, the thought that he didn’t belong in that car ever present. Viktor seemed to notice his tension, and ran a tender hand up his back to try and soothe him. Yuuri blushed darkly, jumping forward at the sudden movement. “Sorry, I should have warned you. Have you never been in a limo before today?” Yuuri looks around at the interior.

“No, it’s… cozy, though. But it’s so expensive looking. How much did you rent it for?”

“Oh, the car is mine,” Viktor says, stretching his arms over his head. Yuuri looks back at him in shock. “I had it accented pink and detailed black on top of it, to match my personal car, but you know, for fancy nightlife escapades and such….” Except this car had been sitting in a garage until just yesterday afternoon, when Viktor set about cleaning it himself, just for today. “I’ll show you once we get out at the theater, so you can see.” Yuuri nods, frowning deeply, the silence stretching awkwardly as Yuuri let his words sink in.

“Your car- you own a limo?!” Yuuri shouts, and Viktor sits up to shush him, the loud noise deafening in the small space. “Sorry,” Yuuri whispers, as Viktor laughs quietly to himself, resting a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. 

“Yes, I own a limo. I had it freshly cleaned just for you, it’s been collecting dust for some time… So please enjoy your time in it, Yuuri, the seats are very comfortable when you lean back in them and just… go boneless…” he sighs, beckoning for Yuuri to follow him as he sinks back into the seat, laying his head back on the headrest. Yuuri nervously did the same, folding his hands on his stomach. “Boneless, Yuuri,” Viktor breathed, turning to look over at him. “Relax your arms, that’s it. Now your shoulders, yes. Does that feel better?” 

“M- mhm…” Yuuri replied, shifting until he did feel fairly comfortable. There were pink stars on the ceiling, he noticed, and blinked in surprise. Viktor gazed at him for a minute, once again enraptured by Yuuri’s beauty. Yuuri pretended not to notice, and resisted the urge to hide on his phone. Viktor offered his hand quietly, and Yuuri looked down at it carefully before taking it, letting Viktor press more kisses to his knuckles, his face pink, and his stomach lurching anxiously. 

“Do you want to listen to some music?” Viktor asked, the sudden silence growing unbearable. 

“Uh… sure,” Yuuri mutters, looking down at his lap. “Yeah, that sounds…. nice.”

“What artist?” Viktor asked, pulling up the music app that was on his phone. Yuuri looked over at him.

“Just the live radio is fine,” Yuuri replied, and Viktor nodded and leaned over to play with the radio controls across from him, switching it to a pop station and turning the volume down so it wouldn’t be overwhelming. “Yeah, that’s fine,” he said, when Viktor looked back at him for approval. Viktor settled back into his seat, and Yuuri once again looked down at his suit. “I thought you were going to fix your outfit for the movie theater?” Yuuri asked, and Viktor looked down, as well. 

“Oh, right, thank you for reminding me,” Viktor gasps, and scoots forward a bit to take off his jacket, and Yuuri tried not to, but his eyes kept drifting to Viktor’s hands, so that the action of undoing each of the buttons on his waistcoat became agonizingly slow. Viktor glanced up at him as he undid the last button, and he blushed when he realized what Phichit had meant when he said that Yuuri loved the suit. He licks his lips with a small smile, and slowly removed the waistcoat, before draping it and his jacket on the seat next to him, putting his wallet and phone into his pants pockets. Yuuri blinked and turned away once he realized his small show was over, and Viktor reached over to take his hand again, pressing another tender kiss to his knuckles with a shy smile. 

“Are you enjoying yourself,  _ solnyshko _ ?” Viktor asked against Yuuri’s hand, turning it to kiss the back of it. Yuuri nods, glancing up to restlessly watch Viktor slowly kiss each of his knuckles, as if he were kissing the rings of a king. 

“You’re kissing my hand a lot,” Yuuri observed quietly, and Viktor stopped and looked up mid kiss, furrowing his brow in uncertainty. “I- I like it, it’s just… a lot. All at once.” 

“Alright. Do you want me to not do it all at once, then?” Viktor asked, lowering Yuuri’s hand. He did like kissing Yuuri’s hand, it felt nice to show his affection that way, and he wasn’t sure how comfortable Yuuri was with  _ kissing _ , yet, so he’d show his affection any way he could until then. 

“Maybe once in a while is fine,” Yuuri said thoughtfully, stealing Viktor’s hand. Viktor let him, gently stroking Yuuri’s knuckles with his thumb. “Why  _ are _ you kissing my hand?” It couldn’t be because Viktor just wanted to kiss his hand for no reason. Viktor seemed perplexed by the question.

“I- I enjoy it, it’s… I’m trying to show you affection, is that- not what you’re getting from it?” Viktor frowned, letting Yuuri hold his hand. Yuuri was blushing again. 

“I don’t know, it’s getting all jumbled up, my anxiety and the nice feeling I get when you look at me, I... I think, and it’s not processing the way it should be…” Yuuri frowned at Viktor’s hand, his stomach rolling with butterflies. Viktor blinked, not having considered the fact that Yuuri might be uncomfortable by Viktor coming on to him so fast. “Sorry, it’s… it’s nice, I just…”

“No, I should be apologizing, Yuuri, I should have asked you, and started slower. Thank you for telling me,” Viktor breathed, gentle, squeezing Yuuri’s hand in reassurance, and Yuuri leaned his face into his hand awkwardly. The music changed in the background, something slow that Viktor didn’t recognize. “Do you want to talk about something else?” He whispered, and Yuuri shrugged, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes. He wasn’t crying, was he? They went over a bump and Viktor caught his glasses before they fell to the floor, letting go of Yuuri’s hand to do so. 

“Thanks,” Yuuri sighed, taking them and holding them, rather than putting them back on his face. Viktor sat back in his seat, tapping his fingers on his leg quietly. 

“Makkachin sat on my head to get me up this morning,” Viktor finally said, and Yuuri looked up in horror. “I’m sorry I fell asleep on you, Yuuri, I promised I would stay up to talk to you…”

“You didn’t have to, though,” Yuuri says, putting his glasses back on so he could see better. “You weren’t late for work, were you? I didn’t mean to keep you up so late, I’m sorry.” 

“I wasn’t late, and I wanted to stay up to talk, you don’t have to worry,” Viktor reassured, but Yuuri still seemed upset. “Can I ask why you named your dog ‘Vicchan?’”

“Uhh….” Yuuri just blinked at him, his face turning pink again. Viktor raised an eyebrow. 

“Or how you became a skater? If that question is too personal.” Yuuri blushed more. “Should we not talk about skating?”

“No, no, not if you’re okay with it,” Yuuri says quickly, trying to think. How  _ had _ he gotten into skating? “Um, my dance teacher, Minako, said I should try it, she thought I might like it, since it was kind of like ballet. Also, she was my coach for a while, too, she came with me for my first competition. Um… My friend Yuuko got me really into skating, though. I… you were… part of the reason I started competing, she- Yuuko, I mean - sat me down to watch the international championships, which is where I first saw you skate, and… well, here I am, I guess.” Yuuri shrugged, looking anywhere but Viktor. He’d just revealed a key point of his backstory, one of the reasons he was afraid of getting close to Viktor, like he’d been telling Viktor about his breakfast. He glanced at Viktor to gauge his reaction, only to see that VIktor was frowning at him. He looked away, his blush worsening. 

“Yuuri…”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I just up and said that straight up, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything, please forgive me-” Viktor’s eyes widen in shock, and he rushes to comfort him.

“Oh, oh no, why would I be offended, Yuuri? I’m flattered, really, I am. It’s alright that you were a fan, I don’t mind, you don’t have to get upset.” He gently cupped Yuuri’s cheek, and Yuuri looked up at him, his lip trembling. “What is it, why are you upset?”

“I was scared you’d be mad at me, you said you didn’t want to talk about your skating career, and I started to anyway.” Viktor worries his lip, gently stroking Yuuri’s cheek. 

“There’s no reason to be scared, I’m sorry if I ever made you think I’d be mad at you for something like that, that’s really sweet of you, to say you were a fan.”

“I still am,” Yuuri whispered, almost inaudible. Viktor blushed softly. 

“Then why are you upset?” Viktor asks, and Yuuri swallows the knot that had been forming in his throat. Viktor searches his downturned eyes. “Okay. Is it okay if I hug you? I want to help you, comfort you, but I don’t know how.” 

“A hug would be nice,” Yuuri breathes, bowing his head. Viktor slides his hand down Yuuri’s neck to his shoulder, squeezing it gently and pulling Yuuri into his chest gently. Yuuri let him, wrapping his arms around him and dropping his head to Viktor’s shoulder heavily, hugging him tight. Viktor pressed his face to the top of Yuuri’s head, keeping him there, his heart beating faster with each breath he took. 

“Will you tell me more about your family’s onsen?” Viktor whispered, reaching up to stroke Yuuri’s hair soothingly. It didn’t really work that well, since it was all gelled back, and Yuuri smiled into his shoulder and gave him a gentle pat on the back for trying. Viktor kept his hand there anyway, knowing he could use one of the napkins from the mini bar across from him once they pulled apart. 

“There’s really not a lot I can say… Words don’t really do it justice. The atmosphere, I mean.” 

“Is it comfortable? Are there nice people there? I know the food is good, you told me that already… Hmm… Are there lots of pretty cherry blossom trees in the spring?” Yuuri nods, shifting his head so his nose wouldn’t be trapped in Viktor’s neck, even though that was more comfortable than sitting with his head turned out. Viktor moved his hand, smoothing his hair back down. 

“I bet Makkachin would like it there, there’s a space out back where we let Vicchan run around, and a lot of the patrons give Vicchan attention now and then, and it’s nice and quiet and not too close to high traffic areas…” 

“Sounds peaceful,” Viktor sighs, rubbing Yuuri’s back with his other hand. “Do you miss it?”

“A lot, yeah. I miss going to the beach every weekend, too. There wasn’t much to do, but I didn’t really have a lot of time, mostly skating and doing homework, and taking Vicchan for walks and helping around the onsen...” 

“Still, I’d like to visit there sometime. What if we go next weekend?”

“You have a thing next weekend I thought?” Yuuri asks, lifting his head. 

“No, that’s the weekend after. Do you have class at all on Friday? We could leave then, and be back sunday evening!” 

“I have school in the morning and practice in the evening,” Yuuri says, and Viktor pouts, disappointed. “Maybe when I’m out of school, that’s coming up in a month or so, I get out of school late May. I’ll still have practice, though…” 

“Oh, we should pick a date, then!” Viktor turns to pull his phone from his pocket, and Yuuri sits back a little, perplexed and giddy that Viktor was planning so far ahead in their relationship, when they’d only been officially dating for about a day and a half. Phichit was probably already planning their wedding, though, so he had to give Viktor credit for his restraint…

“Maybe after we get home from our first one, though,” Yuuri smiles, and Viktor looks up from his calendar, already having clicked through to May. “It’s nice to plan ahead, though we have only been dating for about a day…” 

“You’re right,” Viktor mutters, licking his lips. “Sorry, I got excited, I haven’t really traveled to Japan in since I was still in competition. Would your parents mind if I brought Makkachin with me? Or would we only be able to stay for a day?” Yuuri laughs in good humor, and pushes Viktor shoulder playfully. 

“Another time, Viktor, let me get used to dating you, first before you start talking about meeting my parents.” Viktor smiles sweetly and leans forward to kiss Yuuri’s cheek, barely brushing his lips against his skin, but it was a kiss all the same. Yuuri has to cover his face to stop from giggling like a little girl, and Viktor sits back to admire how pink Yuuri’s cheeks become from the single kiss. 

“We’re here!” Emil calls, and the car stops, making Yuuri lurch in his seat. Viktor calls his thanks and opens the door, taking Yuuri’s hand again and turning to help him out, too. People were staring at the limousine, wondering who could possibly have stopped. Viktor ignored it, but Yuuri was blushing nervously, bouncing on his heels and still blushing as Viktor went to talk to Emil.

“Come back in two hours, I’ll text you when the movie’s over, thank you, Emil.” Emil tipped his hat, and Viktor stepped away from the car to join Yuuri. The limo started to pull away, and the people who were staring started to disperse as they made their way into the theater. “You okay?”

“People were staring,” Yuuri said anxiously, and Viktor sighed sympathetically, placing a hand on Yuuri’s back to try and soothe him. Yuuri leaned into the touch instinctively, blushing more.

“You don’t like when people stare?” Viktor asks, as they walked up to the ticket counter. 

“Well… no, it’s… it’s fine when I’m on the ice, I guess, but it’s weird when I’m not, cause I’m just trying to… not be seen, because-” Yuuri shrugged, and Viktor nodded, squeezing his shoulder gently.

“Okay, yeah, that makes sense,” Viktor breathed, readying his wallet for the tickets. Yuuri pushed it back down, and took out his own, taking a deep breath before asking for their tickets and handing over his own debit card. “Forgot about that,” he breathed, as Yuuri turned with the tickets, and lead Viktor to the concessions line. 

“Did you want popcorn?” Yuuri asked, pulling some cash from his wallet.

“I thought you were full?” Viktor wondered, eyeing the boxes of candy in the case under the counter. “But yeah, popcorn sounds good.” 

“I am full, but it isn’t a movie without popcorn.” The cashier greets them, and Yuuri smiles and orders a large popcorn to share, completely forgetting his anxiety for a few minutes as the cashier completed the transaction and gave him the change. 

“Okay, that gives us ten minutes until the movie starts,” Viktor says, as they wander from the concession stand to check their tickets so they can go find their seats. “Do you want to find our seats right now?”

“Yes, because then we can watch the trailers.” Yuuri led Viktor through to the right screen, a man on a mission, while Viktor followed, bewildered by Yuuri’s enthusiasm, when before he had been uncomfortable under the scrutiny of strangers. “Where should we sit?” And suddenly Viktor had the choice between the farthest seat from the screen, where they would have some semblance of privacy, since no one else was sitting up there, or a comfortable one towards the middle, where the surround sound hit just right, but that would mean they’d be surrounded by people. He couldn’t decide, and turned to Yuuri, who was waiting for his answer patiently.

“Where would you be more comfortable?” Viktor asks, and Yuuri looks around the room, before dragging Viktor up to the empty seats underneath the projector window, dazzling Viktor with the decision. He’d thought Yuuri would sit more towards the middle, because he had been unsure what to do with himself in the car, it seemed. 

“Here’s fine,” Yuuri mutters, settling into his seat. Viktor sat beside him, and the view wasn’t that bad, actually. Yuuri turned to fold up the armrest between them to put the popcorn there, and Viktor looked down and back up at Yuuri. Yuuri looked back at him in confusion. 

“What?”

“Nothing,” Viktor replies, settling into his seat. “I just thought you’d want to sit closer to the screen…” Yuuri reclined his chair, and shook his head. Viktor blinked and looked for the button for his. Yuuri pointed to the armrest on Viktor’s other side. “Oh, thanks.”

“I like the view from here, and no one will come up behind you, it’s nice,” Yuuri says, taking a piece of popcorn. Viktor nodded, looking around the theater. It was relatively empty. Maybe they were in the wrong theater? He checked the ticket the woman that had checked their tickets had given him. No, this was the right one. He shrugged, and reached for some popcorn, the music from the movie trivia playing on the screen just loud enough to be distracting. From what, he wasn’t sure. 

“You look nervous,” Yuuri whispered, turning his head to look at him. “You know we’re watching  _ Oz _ , right? It says on your ticket.”

“Not nervous, just thinking,” Viktor replied. “What makes you say that? Are you nervous?” Yuuri shrugged, and looked down at his lap.

“Not… necessarily, I was just thinking for the tenth time that I’m sitting next to Viktor Nikiforov… and it’s so weird, and great, and I’m afraid that I’m going to mess up somehow…”

“How would you mess up?” Viktor wonders, taking Yuuri’s hand in his own and holding it tight. Yuuri looks up at him, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. “Oh Yuuri… You’re incredible, I can’t express how excited I am to be here with you. We had a lovely lunch date together, what makes you think you would mess up?”

“I- I don’t know, it’s just… something that’s been bugging me, you… you literally walked out of a magazine for me, it’s… a lot to take in.” Viktor searched his eyes, which were turned down to the tub of popcorn. 

“What can I do to help you understand that I intend to be there for you, if you’ll have me?” Viktor asks, holding Yuuri’s hand to his chin. Yuuri glanced up at him, and then away again. “Should I… Can I kiss you?” Yuuri’s face darkens with the prettiest shade of pink, and Viktor’s skin prickles with goosebumps at the sight. “Is that okay?” Yuuri hesitates, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. “You can say no, Yuuri, I won’t be upset with you.” Viktor punctuates the promise with another gentle kiss to the back of Yuuri’s hand. Yuuri presses his mouth into a thin line, obviously worried about something. The lights turn down as the movie trailers start playing, and Viktor looks up and around the room. He turns back to Yuuri, who was looking at him expectantly. “Yes?”

“Um. I don’t… I mean, I do, but.” Yuuri looks around the room, biting his lip. Vitkor catches the action, and licked his own. “What if someone sees? I don’t want them to think we’re doing something inappropriate while waiting to watch something that children will be watching...”

“There’s next to no one in this theater, Yuuri,” Viktor whispers back, though he could understand his concern. “And those who are, aren’t paying attention to us, they’re watching the trailers.” Yuuri frowns, and looks out at the seats in front of them. “I’m not going to make you if you’re uncomfortable, Yuuri.” Laughter ripples through the near empty audience, and Yuuri turns to watch the trailers. Viktor lets him, following his gaze, and hoping that Yuuri wouldn’t be upset with him for asking. 

“If no one’s going to see, then…” Viktor turned back to Yuuri curiously, to find him gazing patiently up at him, and turning his hand in Viktor’s to hold it back. He could feel the sweat from Yuuri’s palms, but the only thing he could see was Yuuri, whom was ready, and if he rejected him now, it would break his promise. Viktor kissed the back of Yuuri’s hand again and leaned in to kiss his lips, Yuuri meeting him halfway.

Sparks ignited deep in Viktor’s gut the moment their lips touched, and he could feel Yuuri’s soft gasp against his lips, no doubt in surprise. Had Yuuri felt something similar? He hoped so. Viktor squeezed his hand, and he tilted his head to lean into the kiss further when Yuuri squeezed back, chasing the feeling. Yuuri returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm, and Viktor almost forgot to pull away when a voice on the screen reminded them to turn their phones off and to not talk during the movie. They both looked at the screen, still close enough to feel each other’s breath. 

“We missed the trailers,” Yuuri breathed, and Viktor turned back to look at him, catching sight of his now swollen lips, illuminated by the light from the screen. 

“I’m sorry, I got carried away,” Viktor sighed, reaching forward to brush his thumb across Yuuri’s bottom lip. Yuuri looked down at his hand, and then up at Viktor. 

“Me too.” They stared at each other for several more seconds, until a small voice below them whispered  _ shh, it’s starting! _ , and they leaned back in their seats, holding hands behind the tub of popcorn. 

Halfway through the movie, Yuuri felt Viktor lay his head on his shoulder, and he turned to see if he was still awake. Viktor glanced up at him, before turning back to the movie, and smiled when Yuuri let him stay. By the end of the movie, Viktor was dozing, comfortable against Yuuri’s side. Heavy with Viktor’s weight and his guilty conscience from keeping Viktor up late the night before, Yuuri waited until the credits were finished before waking him up. 

The car ride home was quiet, the only thing breaking the silence was the radio on low, and Viktor and Yuuri exchanging quiet kisses in the far back of the limo, Yuuri’s glasses on the seat beside them. Viktor’s tie had come undone again sometime after they left the theater, and Yuuri couldn’t keep his hands out of Viktor’s hair. Viktor didn’t mind, his hands locked to Yuuri’s hips as they made out to songs he only recognized because they played in the coffee shop sometimes. 

Kissing was better than talking. If they talked, Yuuri wouldn’t be able to say anything, and Viktor would be trying to ask questions that he’d deflect with more questions. But since they were kissing, all Yuuri had to do was keep his hands moving in Viktor’s hair- he seemed to like it, and he wasn’t trying to stop him in any way, or tell him otherwise. Viktor’s hands on his hips were nice, too, the constant pressure kept him grounded. He imagined how they would feel running up his sides, but kept that to himself, kind of liking the way Viktor was taking it slow. 

All at once, Viktor sighed and separated the kiss, leaving more gentle pecks along his bottom lip, until he stopped altogether, catching his breath. They’d stopped, Yuuri realized, having not noticed over his racing heart. Viktor leaned his forehead on Yuuri’s, letting him breathe, and Yuuri opened his eyes to look at him, slowly smoothing his hair back down before resting his hands on Viktor’s shoulders. Viktor smiled, his fringe falling back down to rest against their cheeks. 

“You’re home,” he whispered, and Yuuri nodded solemnly, sitting back. Viktor cleared his throat, his scalp still tingling from where Yuuri’s hands had been. Yuuri reached around to find his glasses, and smoothed down his sweater. Viktor fixed his tie, both of their cheeks pink and their lips pinker. “Do you want me to walk you to the door?” Viktor asked huskily, his accent stronger than usual. Yuuri nodded, tucking loose hairs behind his ear from where they’d fallen during the car ride. Viktor got out to open the door for him, and Yuuri collected his leftovers from lunch before following him outside. 

“Thank you, for… the nice evening,” Yuuri said, his own voice trembling ever so slightly. Viktor swung their hands between them on their way up to Yuuri’s door. “I had a lot of fun.”

“So did I,” Viktor replied, glancing over at him. Yuuri nodded again, his ears pink again. “Do you want to do this again tomorrow?”

“I have class tomorrow,” Yuuri said. “And practice.” Viktor thought for a moment, still swinging their hands back and forth. 

“What if we went to the park, then? I’ll pick you up after class, and be back by the time you have to go to practice. I’ll even drop you off at the rink. And if it’s the park, maybe I can bring Makkachin!” 

“That sounds nice. Maybe if you’re lucky me and Phichit will have time to stop by the cafe tomorrow morning.” 

“I’ll keep some Lemon Ginseng ready for you,” Viktor smiles, and Yuuri laughs, bumping his shoulder. “What, I know how you like it now.”

“I don’t order that every time I go in there,” Yuuri sighs, as they stop at Yuuri’s door. Viktor gives him a look. “I don’t!”

“Can I make it for you anyway?”

“I’ll tell you what I want  _ tomorrow _ , if I even make it there before class.” 

“Fine.” Viktor lifts Yuuri’s hands to his lips, gazing at him lovingly. “See you tomorrow, then?”

“See you tomorrow.” 

Neither of them moved, each waiting for the other to turn away, but they couldn’t. Finally, Yuuri pulls him down by his tie to kiss him goodnight, and Viktor returned it with a sigh, until Yuuri let him go, and left him on the threshold with a quiet ‘goodnight’. 

“Goodnight,” Viktor whispered back, dazed by Yuuri’s kiss. He texted Yuuri as soon as he got home, telling himself it was so he could confirm the details of their date tomorrow, but really it was so he could ask him if he could send sweet nothings and cute nicknames without being prompted. Yuuri let him, to much ado from Viktor.

“How’d your date go?” Phichit asked him in the morning, having gone to sleep early that night because of school the next morning. When asked, Yuuri blushed and said ‘fine’. Phichit nodded, accepting the answer. He was sure that Viktor would have a more colorful response once they reached the cafe before class that morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure why I put all of the skaters in Detroit yet. I promise there are still some in the competition, I'm just not sure why there are so many in Detroit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor and Yuuri go on their second date!

The day dragged on forever, at least for Yuuri. He couldn’t stop thinking about how soft Viktor’s lips had been. Phichit caught him doodling little hearts in the margins of his notebook in math class. He hadn’t done that since he was in middle school! He erased them, scooting an inch away from Phichit, who was leaning into his math book to hide his laughter.

His second class couldn’t have ended soon enough. He’d finished the tea Viktor had made him before his first class had even started, and he kept day dreaming that Viktor would appear, swooping into his classroom and declare that Yuuri _had_ to come with him, because there was an emergency that only Yuuri could help with. His teacher would ask why the hell was he interrupting the class, and Viktor would say ‘That man has stolen my heart, and I don’t have the strength to live without him.’ The class would ‘awww’ and Phichit would slap Yuuri’s shoulder repeatedly in excitement, probably recording the whole thing, and Viktor would turn to him, pleading him with his eyes, and Yuuri would run down to meet him to uproarious applause. They’d-

“Yuuri.”

“Huh?” Phichit appeared before him with a worried expression, and Yuuri was torn from his daydream. 

“Earth to Yuuri,” Phichit laughed, waving his hand in front of his face. “Class is over.” 

“Oh.” Yuuri blushed, and sat up to put his things into his bag. Phichit stood to the side, leaning on the table. 

“Looked like you were having a good day dream,” Phichit teased, and Yuuri shot him a look. “Were you thinking about Viktor?” Yuuri only blushed more. 

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Yuuri replied, slinging his bag over his shoulder and following Phichit outside. “You’re going to have to pass me the notes for the last half of class, though, I wasn’t paying any attention at all.” 

“You bet, best bud,” Phichit grinned, throwing his arm around Yuuri’s shoulders. “Do you want me to bring your skate bag to practice for you?” 

“Please.” Good thing he had taken a shower before class and actually put something that wasn’t pajamas on today. Otherwise he’d want to go home and change. His shirt was a blue and white checked button up with the top button popped at the collar, (Phichit made him keep it that way), and loose fitting blue jeans that were cut off at the hem and rolled up his shin like capris. Unable to find anything nicer and comfortable for a walk in the park, he was wearing a comfortable pair of black sneakers he’d borrowed from Phichit. Phichit pats his back, proud of his friend for going on his second date. He reached up to fix Yuuri’s hair, and Yuuri ducked out of his grasp to muss it again. It wasn’t like he’d gelled it back again or anything, he’d just kept it down and combed it an extra time to make it look nice. “And make sure my sweats are in it, I don’t think I put them back in after I washed them.”

“Absolutely,” Phichit promised. They crossed down the university steps, laughing amongst each other about something that Yuuri wouldn’t remember later, when a bright pink cadillac convertible pulled up on the other side of the lawn from where they were standing. Viktor wasn’t kidding when he said he’d detailed his limo to match his car. 

Viktor waved at them from the driver’s seat, and stood to sit on the head rest so Yuuri could see him. He was wearing a bright pink tank top to match his car, underneath a white, billowy shirt that wasn’t even buttoned, showing off his toned muscles as he waved his arms over his head. He almost looked like a theater jock, or a preppy rich kid, especially with the blue shorts that he was wearing. Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, and then he realized that what people that were out on the lawn were staring, and his embarrassment and anxiety crept up on him again. Phichit nudged his arm, and they continued walking across the green to where Viktor was waiting, smiling brightly enough that Yuuri could imagine he saw his teeth sparkle in the distance. He could even make out the heart shape his mouth formed, as he called his name.

“Yuuuuuriiiii!” Viktor called, sinking back into his seat as Phichit and Yuuri approached the car, which was a lot more pink up close, if that even made any sense. Viktor reached for Yuuri’s hand, and he let him take it. He could have sworn Viktor was making heart eyes at him. “What will it be today, _zoloste_ , dinner, dancing, a trip to the moon~?” 

“Hey idiot,” a new voice growled, kicking Viktor’s seat, and they all turned to the source, to see Yuri sitting there, with Makkachin on his lap and barely staying in the car. “I thought we were just going to the park?” Yuuri’s eyes widened at the fluffy poodle, and could barely restrain himself from saying hello, dropping his bag and Viktor’s hand as he stepped forward. Makkachin jumped forward, pulling against her leash, covering Yuuri’s face in doggy kisses, and leaning on his shoulders. “Makkachin, get down,” Yuri growled, carefully trying to peel her off of Yuuri. 

“No, it’s fine,” Yuuri laughed, fluffing Makkachin’s ears. “And yeah, a walk in the park sounds great, Viktor, that’s why you brought Makkachin, isn’t it?” He turned to Viktor, who was blushing darkly. His cheeks almost matched the color of his car. 

“Right, sorry, I got excited…” he grinned, fixing his gold framed sunglasses, which glinted purple in the sunlight. He watched Yuuri give Makkachin a big hug, his heart melting at the sight. Phichit appeared behind him, holding Yuuri’s bag. He waved, getting his attention away from Yuuri for a second. “Hi, Phichit, sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Clearly. Hey, so practice starts at five oclock, he needs to be there by 4:45 to warm up and boot up, don’t be late, okay?” Viktor nodded, checking the clock on his dashboard. 12:30 pm. They had plenty of time. “Does he need his bag or anything for that?” Viktor asked, looking at Yuuri, who still had his face buried in Makkachin’s fur. Oh no… Viktor pouted, his heart breaking for him. He must really miss his own dog. And Makkachin was being so patient with him… 

“Nope, I’m taking care of that for him. Just don’t be late, okay?” Phichit turned to Yuuri once Viktor affirmed, and pat his back. “You okay there, Yuuri?”

“Mm?” Yuuri lifted his head, and Makkachin jumped up and got back in the car, much to Yuuri’s disappointment. Yuri grabbed her collar, making sure she would stay in the seat while they drove. “You made her leave…” He whispered, turning to Phichit with an accusatory pout. 

“Viktor’s waiting for you,” Phichit said, pointing at Viktor. Yuuri blushed and turned to the man in question, who was gazing at him with all the tenderness that he could ever want. Yuuri waved, licking his lips nervously.

“Sorry. Hi. Bye Phichit, see you,” he said, and turned to hug Phichit tightly. Phichit wobbled, with a surprised glance at Viktor, but returned the hug, before sending Yuuri on his way. Yuuri climbed into the car, once again self conscious that he didn’t belong in something so expensive. 

“Have fun, you two,” Phichit sang, already walking in the opposite direction. 

“You don’t want a ride?” Viktor asked, turning in his seat. 

“Aw, no, thank you though. I have to go grab lunch before my next class. Don’t be worried, Yuuri has this class on another day. Go on your date, your wasting precious smooching time.” Both Yuuri and Viktor blushed, and Viktor turned to Yuuri expectantly. Yuuri turned around in his seat to yell back at Phichit, waving for Viktor to just go.

“Bye, Phichit, love you!” 

“Love you too, Yuuri! See you at practice!” Phichit called, blowing him a kiss. Viktor started driving, glancing over at Yuuri. Were they just _really_ good friends, or had they been dating before? Yuuri wouldn’t have started dating him if he was dating Phichit, would he? He glanced back at Phichit in his rearview mirror, and caught sight of Yuri, pretending he wasn’t there as he scrolled through his phone. 

“You two seem close,” Viktor asked, turning back to the road, shifting gears as they turned onto a different street. Yuuri nodded, still blushing. “Were you dating at some point?”

“No, just… really close friends,” Yuuri explained quietly. “We… tried dating, but it was weird, so we stopped. Is that weird?” 

“No, no, just curious,” Viktor shrugged, maybe just a little bit jealous. He decided to change the subject. “Makkachin likes you, I think.” At the sound of her name, Makkachin stuck her head between the two front seats, resting her head on the center console. Yuuri looked down at her and pat her head with a smile. “She’s very gentle, her bark is scarier than her bite, I promise.”

“She’s a big baby,” Yuuri cooed, fluffing Makkachin’s ears again, and Viktor smiled to himself. Yuri rolled his eyes, still holding tight to her leash. “Um. But why is your cousin here?”

“Oh, uh, to baby sit Makkachin,” Viktor replied brightly. “I wanted to take her to the park with us, but I wanted to have both hands so I can hold yours.” He lays his gear shift hand on Yuuri’s leg gently, to which Yuuri reacts with a near inaudible gasp. Viktor lifts his hand again, worried he’d upset him, but Yuuri gently put it back, his face burning. 

“I’m also here to make sure Viktor doesn’t spend $3000 dollars on you again,” Yuri speaks up bluntly, and Viktor has to stop himself from slamming on the brakes in shock that Yuri had broken his promise not to say anything, instead gently guiding them to a stop at the stop light. Yuuri looks up at him, his face white with shock. Viktor rubs his mouth, embarrassed and angry, his ears bright pink. 

“What did I say, Yuri, not to bring that up,” Viktor finally said, almost forgetting to drive when the light turned green. Yuuri continued staring at him, not quite sure what to do. Makkachin got bored and got up to stick her head out the window. Yuri kept holding her leash tightly. 

“Well sorry, I forgot, whoops,” Yuri shrugged, keeping his eyes on the dog. Sure, Viktor was angry at him now, but if his dog fell out of the car, he’d be dead faster than Viktor could react. 

“Well try harder to not forget things like that,” Viktor scolded, and glanced at Yuuri, who was still staring at him. “I’m sorry, Yuuri, if that stresses you out, I really wasn’t paying attention to the price tags. If it makes you feel better, the dinner was only $400. I promised I would tell you, and I forgot, I’m sorry.” 

“I- I don’t know, I don’t know, I feel stressed, I think. You spent _$3000 dollars on me?_ ” Viktor pulled into the parking lot at the park, parking the car in the shade of a tall tree and presses the button to unfold the roof, which was made of black canvas. 

“Yes, I did. Well. almost. $2,897.48 to be… exact. I think. I did the math once I got home. I figured maybe I ought to try better to check the price of things before I buy them? Even though I can probably afford them.” 

“Where did it all go?” Yuuri begged, pressing his hands to his temples. 

“Uh, the dinner, the flowers, the violinist, the masseuse, Emil, and several large tips to the host at the restaurant, the waiters and waitresses, and the masseuse, whom I would have tipped anyway, but I tipped him more because we had to turn him away.” Viktor winced, turning to Yuuri, who was on the verge of a panic attack. “To be completely honest, Yuuri, I’d spend every cent I have on you, if you’d let me. You’re so beautiful, and sweet, and I want to give you only the best.” 

“You’re…. I need air. You spent _$3000 dollars on me._ That’s like…. almost half a semester at my school. That’s like four pairs of cheap but decent ice skates. That’s two and a half month’s rent. That’s half a sponsorship deal, Viktor, you spent so much money on me.” Yuuri looks up at him, wide eyed and frightened. He wanted Viktor, and every minute of his time, but could he really live knowing Viktor was spending thousands of dollars on him and him alone? In a single day?

“I know, I know. That’s why we came to the park! Where walking and breathing and just _being_ is free. See?” Viktor gestured through the windshield at the park, the city in the background. It was picturesque and pretty, and there were ducks floating on the pond and down the river that ran through the park. It did look nice… and it was so nice outside today… “I promise not to spend any money on you today, unless you really need something.” Yuuri nodded, taking a moment to make sure he was breathing correctly, before unbuckling his seat belt, getting ready to get out of the car. 

“I know you won’t, because I’m treating you today. If there’s something that requires money, I will pay for it. I have a little money to spare, anyway.” Viktor nibbles his lips, not having the heart to tell him that he was paying Yuri to be there.

“Cmon, dog,” Yuri grumbled, getting out of the car with Makkachin close behind, speaking in soft Russian to her. “ _Kabluk, sobaka. Khoroshiy Makkachin, ostan'sya.”_

Viktor turned to Yuuri again after he turned off the car, quietly offering him his hand. Yuuri stared at it for a minute before taking it, turning it over in his hands to quietly inspect each of his fingers as if they had offended him in some way.

“You’ll forgive me, won’t you, _milaya_?” Viktor whispers, and Yuuri glances up at him, his gaze softening at the gentle name. 

“Yeah,” he sighs, and Viktor lets out a heavy sigh in reply. “I can understand if you want to spend money on me, just… I don’t know if I’m completely comfortable with you buying me extravagantly expensive things, since, you know, we just started dating yesterday…” 

“If you don’t mind it,” Viktor says, nibbling his lip nervously. He was already hoping he could start planning their wedding, soon. Yuuri nodded, his cheeks pink from the effort of relaying his thoughts and emotions. Viktor hoped he could get to know him better soon...

“What does _mil- milaya_ mean?” Yuuri asks, his heart stuttering at the way Viktor was gazing at him. “You keep calling me things in Russian.” 

“Sweet,” Viktor whispers, looking down at their hands. “Like darling, or dear. I’ve called you ‘My Sunshine’, and ‘My Gold’... Sorry, I didn’t think about translating…” Viktor bent forward to kiss Yuuri’s hand, while Yuuri blushed, his current growing adoration conflicting with his anger and anxiety at Viktor’s spending habits. “Would you like to hear more?” Before Yuuri could respond, Yuri knocked on the driver’s side window. Makkachin appeared a second later, her paws on either side of her face as she barked on cue. 

“Come on, this was your idea, old man,” Yuri said, his voice muffled by the glass. “Your dog is waiting.” 

“Maybe later, on our walk,” Yuuri replied, pulling away and getting out of the car. Viktor hurried to follow, keeping Makkachin from jumping on Yuuri when he came around the car to join them. 

“Are we ready?” Viktor asked, going around to get a picnic basket out of the trunk of the car. At Yuuri’s stern look, Viktor held a hand out to appease him. “I brought it all from home, I promise. Homemade, all by me, and a bottle of champagne I’d been saving for a special occasion. I promise I didn’t spend any extra money that I didn’t need to.” 

“If that’s all, then…” Yuuri muttered, blushing at his own financial need to be a cheap date. Viktor handed him a water bottle, but he shook his head, preferring to just hold Viktor’s hand for now, needing something to ground him, otherwise he’d balk in front of all the people that he felt were staring at him, even though no one was staring at him. People were throwing passing glances at Viktor’s car, but that was about it.

“Yup. Yuri, you’ve got Makkachin?” Viktor looked back at him. Yuri nodded begrudgingly, and let the dog bound ahead, keeping her leash tight in his hand. “Good. Onward, then!” 

They set off at a leisurely pace, letting Makkachin stop to sniff every tree and bush that they passed, and so that Vitkor could stop and adjust the picnic basket’s shoulder strap every so often. Yuuri finally took it, readjusted the strap, and slung it over his shoulder messenger bag style, to a bright ‘wow!’ from Viktor. Yuuri blushed and they continued on, suddenly regretting his choice to not think of sunglasses. Viktor noticed Yuuri trying to shade his eyes, and turned to Yuri, who had stopped to let Makkachin take care of her business. 

“Yuri, hey,” he hissed, and Yuri looked up at him with a glare. “Could you go and find Yuuri some sunglasses? I think I have some extra ones in the glove box, maybe.” He tossed Yuri his keys, and Yuri caught them, and handed him the dog. 

“If there aren’t, don’t make me go to the store, idiot, I’m not buying you anything.” 

“I didn’t ask you to go to the store,” Viktor said, as Yuri turned around to jog back to the car. Yuuri turned to see what was going on, frowning against the sunlight. “I just sent Yuri to go grab some more sunglasses. Should I have asked you first?”

“That’s… nice of you, actually. I should have thought about that before, because I have sunglasses at home somewhere. But it’ll be kind of awkward to wear both my glasses and sunglasses, won’t it? I can’t really see without them. I mean, I can see well enough, but it’s really blurry.” 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t think about that…” Viktor breathed, feeling like an idiot. “I think there might be a gift shop around the corner, maybe they have some sun hats-” Yuuri pulled him back to keep Viktor from pulling him along. Makkachin cocked her head up at them curiously. “Right, no spending, sorry. And Yuri has my wallet, anyway.”

“Let’s just find a shady spot to sit, instead,” Yuuri suggested, looking around for a comfortable looking spot. “There looks fine,” he said, pointing. Viktor nodded, and lead them in that direction, Makkachin trotting along beside them happily. Yuuri took the picnic basket off his shoulder and set it on the ground, and Viktor knelt beside it to open it and take out a large, blue picnic blanket. Yuuri blinked, and Viktor closed the picnic basket. 

“Help me lay this out,” he says, looping Makkachin’s leash onto his wrist so she wouldn’t run off. Yuuri did, taking the corner that Viktor handed him, and they shook the blanket out, with Makkachin barking at them the entire time. Yuri returned just as they were settling on the blanket, and trying to keep Makkachin from getting into the basket. 

“I found an extra pair of sunglasses,” Yuri says, tossing them at Yuuri, who tried to catch them, but they landed in his lap, instead.

“Thank you, Yuri, but why don’t you wear them? I won’t be able to wear them without taking off my glasses.” He hands them back to Yuri, who takes them back with an irritated grumble. 

“I went and got them for you, though.”

“Sorry,” Yuuri sighed, and winced when Yuri threw the car keys back at Viktor. Viktor caught them, and tossed them into the picnic basket. Makkachin lifted her head to sniff Yuuri’s chin, worried that he was upset. Yuuri pat her head, and looked at Viktor. 

“Who’s hungry?” Vitkor asked, going through the picnic basket. Yuuri held Makkachin back so she wouldn’t steal anything from it. “We have sandwiches, various fruits, champagne, several water bottles… Ooh, some chicken for Makkachin~” Viktor singsonged, digging out a piece and luring Makkachin away from the basket with it and tossing it across the picnic blanket for her, where she ate happily. “Hm. What are you hungry for, Yuuri?” 

“Some fruit sounds good,” Yuuri says, and Viktor lets him help himself with a smile. Viktor offers the tupperware of assorted fruit to Yuri, who declines, and pulls his sandwich out of the basket instead. Viktor pulled a fork from the basket, and picked a piece of watermelon out of the tupperware, the juice running down his chin. Yuuri caught sight of it, just as it dripped onto his pink shirt. The drip shape it formed reminded him of a watermelon seed. Viktor caught him staring, his smile growing, and he offered him the bowl of tupperware again. Yuuri blinked and looked down at the bowl of fruit, and selected a halved strawberry to snack on, not quite hungry for a sandwich yet. 

“Where’d you go to business school, Viktor?” Yuuri asked conversationally, to which Viktor responded with the sound of his fingers popping out of his mouth, having just tossed a couple grapes onto his tongue. 

“Online, with Saint Petersburg University, then transferred to campus after about a year, and graduated with honors, it was a lot of fun, actually. Opened up the coffee shop about 6 months after I graduated, which didn’t take long, only needed a place to rent, a few permits, for building and food prep and stuff, and a business plan. I went off of a project I had started during my fourth year. Within a year I had two locations open; one in Saint Petersburg, and one in Moscow. Within two, I had opened three more stores in St. Petersburg, New York City, and Detroit. You can get far if you have good references, remember that.” Yuuri nodded, shocked by Viktor’s success, and how much information he had gotten from one question. Viktor continued animatedly. “We’re planning on opening another in Moscow, that’s where I’m going the weekend after next, to plan for a new location. Maybe once we have a few more stores open we can start building another corporate office, maybe in New York or something. I’ll have to ask my team.” Viktor mutters, leaning back on his hand and chewing a strawberry thoughtfully. 

“Wow, you rose through the business world pretty fast,” Yuuri mutters, wishing he could say the same about his own career. Viktor looked at him, wishing he could see Yuuri skate live. 

“You sound sad for some reason,” Viktor says, grabbing a napkin to dry his hand off before reaching over to rub Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri tenses but doesn’t say anything. “Can I ask why?”

“It’s… It’s silly,” Yuuri sighs, taking another piece of fruit to try and avoid the question. 

“Why is it silly? It shouldn’t be if it makes you sad. Can I know so I can help make you happy again?” His hand moves to Yuuri’s other shoulder, and scoots closer so neither of them would fall over. Yuuri presses his lips together, not knowing how he should say it. 

“It’s just… You rose up in the skating world so fast, too, like a rocket.” Viktor blinked, his heart skipping a beat. He wasn’t saying- no, he couldn’t know, it wasn’t anywhere in the media. They were told not to air it. “And you spend your money like you could never run out… I’m just saying maybe… be more careful, Viktor,” Oh. “I don’t want to see you crash and burn.” Yuuri looks up at him, just in time to see Viktor’s eyes go dark with a sudden spark of fear and… regret? Yuuri blinks, wondering what it was he could have said. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright,” Viktor sighs, shaking himself out of his thoughts. “I will be, I promise. That’s why I have a financial team and such to make sure I don’t go bankrupt,” he laughed, his voice heavy with his sudden sour thoughts. Yuuri searches his eyes, worried he might have offended him. “I made you a sandwich,” Viktor says brightly, changing topics. “Maybe I should have just brought sandwich ingredients, that would have been a smarter thing to do…”

“No, that’s fine, thank you for thinking of me,” Yuuri says, his concern lingering as Viktor hands him a sandwich. “Well, you can’t have not thought of me, we are on a date… duh.” That makes Viktor laugh, and Yuuri smiles, hoping that made the darkness in Viktor’s eyes abate a little. 

“Yes, we are on a date,” Viktor beams, but Yuuri could still see beyond the smile. He’d seen smiles like that before, on the TV. Viktor would smile for the camera, but he’d be bored and listless. He’d look like he just wanted to skate without the camera in his face. He’d looked so pretty, though. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Yuuri puts down his sandwich and reaches up to cup Viktor’s cheeks. “Yuuri?”

“Where’s your real smile?” Yuuri asks gently, and Viktor blinks at him, surprised and astonished, his lips pursed between Yuuri’s hands. “I’ve seen it before. I’m sorry if I made you sad…”

“What?” Viktor held Yuuri’s hands, gently sliding them away from his mouth so he could talk. “You... you didn’t make me sad, Yuuri, I just… thought of something sad. I didn’t mean to worry you…” Viktor pressed Yuuri’s hands to his face gently, and turned to kiss one of his palms. “You saw through my smile, huh?”

“You were,” Yuuri whispers, leaning his head on his arm. “I’m sorry if I… made you upset…”

“It’s okay, Yuuri, you don’t have to apologize…” Viktor breathes, releasing Yuuri’s hands and leaning forward to kiss his forehead. Yuuri squeezes his eyes shut, feeling like he was forgetting something. “Are you going to eat your sandwich? I did make it just for you.” Viktor releases him, and Yuuri picks his sandwich back up, still worried he’d upset Viktor, and felt like he had to fix it. He opened the baggie and took the sandwich out, to Viktor’s commentary. “It’s a ham and turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato and sliced cheddar, and just a little bit of mayo. I wasn’t sure how much you liked.” Yuuri opened the sandwich to look, and his lip started trembling when he saw that the slices of cheese were shaped like hearts. Who was he to deserve heart shaped cheese, when he kept breaking people’s hearts? “Yuuri? Hey, it’s okay, no… oh no... awww c’mere…” Yuuri replaced the bread and let Viktor wrap him up in a hug, burying his face in Viktor’s shoulder. 

“What did you do?” Yuri asks through a mouthful of turkey, and Viktor waves him away with a scowl. Yuuri burrows into Viktor’s chest at the noise, and Viktor pulls away to take Yuuri’s glasses off before pulling him back in again. 

“Hey, _milaya_ , _solnyshko,_ it’s okay, why are you crying? I told you, you didn’t make me upset, so why are you so sad?” Yuuri shakes his head, biting his lip. “You can tell me, I won’t be upset, I promise.”

“It’s stupid,” Yuuri manages, trying not to squeeze the sandwich. Viktor had made it just for him, it would be a shame to waste it. Viktor stroked his hair gently, watching as Yuuri blindly put it back into the bag. 

“It’s not stupid, Yuuri, please tell me?” Yuuri shook his head, muttering in jumbled Japanese. “I… I don’t speak Japanese, _solnyshko,_ I’m sorry.”

“I- I don’t deserve heart shaped cheese,” Yuuri whispered, and Viktor almost didn’t hear him. 

“Of course you do!” Viktor gasps, and throws his plastic fork at Yuri to stop him from laughing. Yuri dodges it and sticks his tongue out at him. Makkachin goes to retrieve it, and drops it at Viktor’s foot. “Yuuri, of course you deserve heart shaped cheese, Yuuri. Is this because you thought I was upset with you?” Yuuri nodded, really not crying, but trying his best not to, and Viktor knotted his brow together, stroking Yuuri’s hair. “I’m not, though. I’m really not. I could never be upset with you, Yuuri, I promise. Just because I had a bad thought, doesn’t mean I’m upset with you…” 

“You’re ruining your date,” Yuri scoffs, as Makkachin struggles to see why Yuuri was sad, sticking her nose between Viktor’s neck and Yuuri’s forehead. Viktor scolds Yuri violently in Russian before turning back to Yuuri, who was finding it hard to stay upset when there was a dog in his face, while still distressed that he probably _was_ ruining their date. 

“Don’t mind Yuri, he’s being insensitive,” Viktor sighs, glaring at Yuri. Yuri ignores him, reclining in the grass. Viktor presses a gentle kiss to the top of Yuuri’s head, letting Makkachin give him kisses, too. “If anything I’m worried about you,” Viktor breathes, as Yuuri finally lifts his head to let the dog know he was okay. “Are you okay now?” Yuuri shrugs, wiping his face with a sigh. “Okay. If you don’t want the heart shaped cheese, I can eat it for you. I still think you deserve it, though.” 

“No, I’ll eat it,” Yuuri replies quietly. “I’m sorry I got so upset… and ruined your shirt….” Viktor blinks and looks down at his shoulder, which sported a noticeable wet spot. 

“It’ll wash,” Viktor smiles tenderly, and Yuuri removes the sandwich from the bag, staring at it begrudgingly, despite it never having done anything wrong. Makkachin was staring at it, too. “Can I ask why you think you don’t deserve heart shaped cheese?” 

“I’ve… broken some hearts,” Yuuri sighs, still not ready to eat the sandwich. Viktor looks down at the sandwich, then back up at Yuuri. “Not on purpose, but I have…”

“You haven’t broken my heart,” Viktor whispers, reaching up to stroke Yuuri’s hair from his face. Yuuri pouts, clenching his jaw. “And I’m sure those other people have found happiness somewhere else.”

“I broke Vicchan’s heart…” Yuuri hiccups, his lip starting to tremble again. Viktor gapes at him, but rushes to wipe the tears that managed to escape, despite Yuuri’s best efforts. 

“No, _milaya_ , no, you didn’t break Vicchan’s heart, he still loves you very much,” Viktor worries, and calls Makkachin closer again, who gladly nudges his cheek with her nose. Yuuri lifts his hand to stroke her ear, her attention only kind of helping. “Here, if you’re not ready to eat the sandwich yet, let’s put it away so Makkachin doesn’t try to eat it.” Yuuri nods, giving Viktor the sandwich and pulling Makakchin into a tight hug. The poodle lets him, resting her head on his shoulder obediently. 

“ _Kakaya ulovka,”_ Yuri mutters, and Viktor tosses a grape at his face, for lack of anything better to throw at him, and lack of strength to try. “ _Hy!_ ”

“ _Sledite za svoimi manerami ili vam ne platyat._ ” Yuri grumbles to himself, and Vitkor turns back to Yuuri, quietly stroking his back. “Yuuri,” he breathes, and Yuuri turns to look at him, his eyes red from trying and failing to keep from crying. Viktor hands him a napkin to wipe his face. Yuuri takes it, looking down at the wet spot on Viktor’s shoulder. Viktor lifts his head up with a gentle finger under his chin, making him look up again. “You stole my heart, Yuuri, but I trust you with it, okay? You haven’t broken it yet, and I trust you won’t break it any time soon, okay?” Yuuri’s blush evens out, and he nods, letting Viktor lean forward to kiss his forehead again. “Do you want some water?”

“Water sounds good, yeah…” Yuuri says scratchily, giving Makkachin a gentle pat before releasing her. Makkachin wags her tail and gives him another sloppy kiss before trotting over to sit with Yuri. Viktor tosses her a piece of chicken, and hands a water bottle to Yuuri, who takes it with a strained smile. 

“I brought dessert, too, but… I don’t know if you… with your diet thing, I mean, for skating,” Viktor mutters, scratching the back of his neck. He had to get a haircut soon, it was starting to grow back faster than he liked. Yuuri shrugged, chugging his water until he was forced to come up for air. Viktor pretended he hadn’t just had a lewd thought for Yuuri’s sake, and pulled out his own sandwich, the same as Yuuri’s except with regular shaped cheese. 

“I think the fruit is enough for me, thank you, though.” Yuuri sighed, wishing he could have some dessert. Viktor probably made it special… He tapped a finger against his water bottle. “Sorry for… having a melt down,” he whispered, his voice breaking, and Viktor looks up again, wishing he could simply take Yuuri’s pain away. He didn’t want to see Yuuri cry again for _any_ reason.

“Nonsense, Yuuri, it’s okay to cry once in a while. You startled me, sure, but you don’t have to apologize, okay?” Yuuri hesitated, wanting to say it wasn’t okay, and that he was ruining their date, but he nodded, trying to come up with a different topic. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” Yuuri sighed, sipping his bottle of water. “Thank you…”

“Of course, _milaya_ , anything for you,” Viktor says sweetly. Yuuri nods, licking his chapped lips. 

“You guys are gross,” Yuri mutters, stroking Makkachin’s sun warmed fur. Viktor glared at him. 

“If you don’t like it, you can leave,” Viktor says, scooching closer to Yuuri and throwing an arm around him. Yuuri lurches into his side, still not used to Viktor’s touches. Yuri doesn’t reply, turning onto his side so he could continue playing with his phone. 

“Shouldn’t Yuri be in school right now?” Yuuri wonders, checking his phone. Yuri tenses, and checks the time, as well. Viktor lets his jaw drop in realization. 

“Shit, we have to get you back, you’re right, Yuuri. What time are you supposed to be back from lunch?” 

“I have a reading seminar right now,” Yuri says, rolling onto his back and sitting up. Makkachin gets up and shakes the grass from her fur with a yawn. “I don’t have to be back at all, really, until 1:30…”

“We have to go now, though, otherwise you’ll be late for your next class,” Viktor says, getting up to pick up their trash. Yuuri helps by packing up the fruit and putting it back into the basket. “Attendance is important, Yuri, and your parents are going to be angry with me for keeping you.” He stuffs his sandwich into his mouth, and motions for Yuuri to get up so they can fold the blanket. Yuri gets up, too, and helps to stuff the blanket into the basket. 

“But It doesn’t matter, I don’t need my math class anyway, I’ve already passed all the classes that I need to graduate.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t still be on time,” Viktor scolds, taking his keys out of the basket as he got up. 

“I thought you needed me so you wouldn’t spend any money,” Yuri reminds him.

“I can help him do that,” Yuuri says, slinging the basket over his shoulders. “You need to go back to class.” Yuri pouts, but follows them anyway, Viktor hurrying them along, his free hand holding Yuuri’s tightly. 

“Can I at least pick the music?” Yuri asks, Makkachin pulling on the leash to keep up with Viktor. 

“No,” Viktor replies. “Yuuri can pick the music.” He nods at Yuuri, who smiles. 

“Fine, but I’m charging you extra, Viktor,” Yuri scowls once they reach the car. 

“No, you’re not,” Viktor hisses through his teeth. “Get in the car.” Yuri did, and Makkachin followed, happy to be going for another car ride. “I can’t believe none of us were paying attention to the time,” Viktor sighs, and holds the passenger door open for Yuuri. Yuuri gets in, putting the picnic basket at his feet. Viktor comes around and gets in the car, checking that everyone was buckled and safe before he started the car, turning the air conditioning on instead of putting the top down. 

“Why was Yuri out of class in the first place?”

“They let the seniors eat outside, since there’s a pizza place across the street,” Yuri replies. “Viktor came and signed me out and in for lunch, he said he’d pay me.”

“Viktor!”

“I asked his parents first!” Viktor defended, rolling down a window halfway for Makkachin. “Which is why they’ll be mad if I make him late.” 

“You said you weren’t spending any money today.” 

“I said I wasn’t spending any money on you, and I’m not, I’m paying Yuri for his time, which is generous of me, because he already gets a paycheck from the cafe,” Viktor mutters. Yuuri frowns, still uncomfortable with how much Viktor had spent on him, but decides not to argue, and bends forward to go through the picnic basket to find his sandwich, his stomach grumbling. 

“Okay, are you going to pay me now or later?” Yuri asks from the back seat as Viktor pulls up to Yuri’s school. 

“Later,” Viktor says, parking the car and reaching back to grab the dog’s leash. “Now get to class, or I won’t pay you at all.” 

“Fine. See you.” Yuri slams the door on his way out, but not before making sure Makkachin wouldn’t try to jump out after him. Yuuri jumps, nearly dropping his sandwich. 

“Love you, too!” Viktor calls after him, leaning over Yuri to shout out the window. “And don’t slam my car doors!” Yuri flips him off, and disappears into the school. Viktor sighs, and returns to his seat. He slouches over the steering wheel, and turns to Yuuri with a pout, his sunglasses askew. “Do you like your sandwich?” Yuuri nods, blushing softly. If he didn’t think too much about the heart shaped cheese (which was actually very sweet of Viktor,) it was actually pretty good. “Sorry we couldn’t stay at the park. Do you want to go back?”

“No, maybe another time,” Yuuri mutters, taking another bite of his sandwich. He didn’t want to go back now, not after he had a meltdown in front of several people, who were probably scared and concerned and- Yuuri shook his head, forcing himself to think of something else- like the way Viktor’s arms felt around him; so safe and warm, and…

“Where do you want to go then?” Viktor asked, sitting up and tapping the wheel. “We still have three hours until you have to be at the rink…” He thought for a minute, leaning back in his seat. “Do you want to come over to my house? We could watch a scary movie like you wanted to last night!” Yuuri stopped chewing, his blush darkening. _Viktor’s_ house. Viktor’s _house._ Was it weird to do that on the second date? He wasn’t sure. Viktor had been over to his on the first date. 

“Uhh, sure,” Yuuri coughed, gagging when he swallowed his bite of sandwich a few chews too soon. He held his mouth until it went away. Viktor blinked at him, concern warping his features. He sits up, his hand on Yuuri’s back before he could reply.

“Are you okay? God, are you choking? Yuuri??”

“No, mnot, just- forgot to finish chewing, I’m okay…” Yuuri chokes out, and takes a deep breath once it passes. “I’m fine…” he says finally, and Viktor relaxes, rubbing his back. 

“Okay. You had me worried for a second there.” Viktor looks him over, and only after he presses a firm kiss to Yuuri’s forehead does he turn to start driving again, turning to stop at the stop sign. “So my house is okay?”

“Yeah,” Yuuri replies, bending over to dig through the picnic basket for another bottle of water. “Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting you to offer, is all…” He takes a swig of water, and leans back in his seat, rubbing his eyes. 

“Okay.” Viktor reaches over to place a hand on Yuuri’s thigh, needing to have something to make sure he was okay. Yuuri tensed but didn’t shy away, not sure what to do with Viktor’s intimate touches. Viktor notices a second too late, and takes his hand away. “Sorry, do you not like it when I do that?” Yuuri rubs his thigh nervously, placing his water bottle in the cup holder. 

“It’s not that, I’m just… not… used to it…” Yuuri says, pressing his legs together and moving them closer to the door. Viktor glances at him and back at the road, pressing his lips together in a thin line, perplexed by Yuuri’s preferences. Before, Yuuri had liked it when Viktor was rubbing his hips and the area around his navel and his lower back when they had been kissing… 

“If it makes you uncomfortable, that’s fine, I won’t do it anymore. Would you rather hold hands?” Yuuri shifted in his seat, but didn’t reply. Viktor took that as a maybe, and shifted his full focus back to the road. Yuuri continued eating his sandwich.

“Sorry…” Yuuri breathed nervously, successfully chewing and swallowing without almost choking. Viktor looked over at him as they stopped at a stop light. 

“I’m not upset with you, Yuuri, I want you to be comfortable. Please tell me if anything I do makes you uncomfortable, and I’ll tell you likewise, okay?” Yuuri nods, glancing up at him. Viktor nods, and looks back up at the light, which had turned green almost as soon as Yuuri had answered. He turned down another street, and another, and Yuuri still hadn’t finished his sandwich by the time they reached Viktor’s apartment building, a sharp looking victorian style house that had been converted into a two family flat. It was a dark, purple-y pink. Of course. The roof shingles were a dark grey, as was the paint on the chimney, but the accents on the windows and the porch were a bright white, that shone in the sun. Had he repainted recently? Yuuri couldn’t have cared less, it would be a handsome house either way. It looked like the owner was taking good care of it.

“Uh… so you like pink,” Yuuri concludes, getting out of the car and gazing up at the house. Viktor laughs as he lets Makkachin out, and locks the car. 

“So you’ve noticed,” he beams, beckoning Yuuri up the front porch steps and going through his key ring. Yuuri follows, the house looming above him in a friendly way. It would have been menacing if the pink color wasn’t so welcoming. “I live upstairs, and rent the downstairs out for a cheap price to college students and the like,” Viktor explains, letting Yuuri go inside first. 

Yuuri had been expecting a lot more gaudy when he entered the foyer, but instead found a cleanly decorated sitting room, fitted with a wall mounted flat screen TV, a comfortable looking loveseat, and a dining table, likely for company, or interviewing possible tenants. A cable box and a video game console was set up underneath the television, and Yuuri gazed at the console longingly, wondering if very many bored kids have played there while their parents were touring the house. 

The walls were painted a soft blue that was almost purple, and trimmed with white wainscoting that surrounded the length of the room, to match the crown moulding above. Yuuri nearly bumped into the couch he was so busy studying the interior, and almost forgot to follow Viktor up the stairs that ran up the side of the left wall. The railing was made of birch wood, not that Yuuri knew or even cared what kind it was, his attention being on the attention to detail the carpenter or whoever had put into the detailed leaves and snowflakes that lined the sides of the rail and the bars supporting it. 

Viktor and Makkachin were already halfway up the staircase and waiting for him, and Yuuri hurried to catch up, kicking his shoes off at the bottom of the stairs, the picnic basket bumping against his hip as he went. 

“You like it?” Viktor beamed, and Yuuri nodded, kind of embarrassed that he had expected something much worse, despite the outside of the house and the yard being so pristine. Viktor must have the exterior of the house pressure washed bi weekly or something… 

“Wait, _you_ own this house?” Yuuri asks, stopping on the landing as Viktor pulled the keys out to his apartment, and paused to look back at Yuuri. “You _own_ it own it?”

“Yes? Is that hard to understand?”

“I thought you were just living here once in a while.”

“I just told you, I rent the downstairs out,” Viktor says, turning back to his door to unlock it. He bent down to unhook Makkachin’s leash, letting her trot on inside. “I also own an apartment in St. Petersburg, because I have to keep an eye on my stores there, too. My business may be widespread, but it’s still very small.” Yuuri stayed at the top of the stairs, his mouth agape like he wanted to say something, but he shut it again, and frowned at nothing in particular, not sure why it was weird that Viktor owned a house here. 

“It’s…. Nice that you rent out the downstairs...” Yuuri finally says, following Viktor into his apartment. “Does anyone live downstairs right now?”

“Yes, a couple of college students from the school around the corner. They’re very quiet, and they leave for the summer to visit their families. There’s two apartments downstairs; 102 is being rented right now, but 103 is empty. I’ve been using it as a guest house until I can find someone to rent it. No one’s really been using it, though.” 

“How much do you charge?” Yuuri asks, his mouth agape as he studies Viktor’s penthouse, if he could call it that at all, the decorating tasteful but comfortable. Yuuri had always expected something more fancy, or minimalist for some reason, when picturing Viktor’s house. Or something log-cabin-esque. Would Viktor be comfortable in a log cabin? Yuuri wouldn’t mind having one. They looked cozy. 

“About $340 before taxes and utilities,” Viktor replies, shrugging, and opening up a cupboard in the studio style kitchen to pull out a bag of popcorn kernels. “How do you like your popcorn?”

“Ex _cuse me?_ ” Yuuri whipped around from studying the stone fireplace in the living room, nearly tripping on the weathered looking coffee table that was probably actually brand new, judging by the glass tabletop and the curved pear shape it was in. Viktor looks up from the popcorn he was measuring, and Yuuri notices a measuring cup of butter that hadn’t been there before. 

“$340, how much do you pay for rent?”

“$600, before taxes and utilities, because it was comfortable, and close to school,” Yuuri replies, looking down at the medium sized grey sectional that sat proudly in the center of the living room, before a large flat screen TV. Did he even need that? How many people does he have over to his apartment? And how did he know what a medium sized sectional looked like, sectional couches could be any size, depending how many people lived in the house. “How rich _are_ you?”

“Rich enough,” Viktor scoffs, pretending to be offended. Yuuri gives him a bewildered look. “I could have given Makkachin her own full sized bedroom, but I didn’t, because she just sleeps in my bed every night, so that would be a waste of money.”

“When will you have enough people to fill that sectional?” Yuuri asks, gesturing to the couch. Viktor shrugs. 

“At least I do have it when I do have enough people to fill it. Right now, it’s the perfect size for me and Makkachin to stretch out on it, along with enough room for at least two more people to sit on it comfortably, as well.” Viktor pouts comically at his measured bowl of popcorn kernels. Yuuri gestures to the wooden bar stools that sported white, plush looking seat covers embroidered with blue snowflakes on the other side of the counter Viktor was working at. “Again, for when I have company to entertain. I also like to sit here with my morning coffee before my morning walk with Makkachin. How do you like your popcorn?” Viktor asked again, gesturing to the bowl in front of him. Yuuri sighs, and approaches the counter. 

“How are you going to make that? You can’t microwave it, it’ll go all over...” Yuuri breathes, and Viktor laughs, turning to put the bag of kernels back into the cupboard, coming back with powdered parmesan and a salt shaker, placing them neatly into the bowl of kernels. 

“I have a popcorn machine upstairs,” Viktor says, beckoning for the picnic basket that Yuuri still hadn’t put down. Yuuri startles and puts the basket onto the counter. “I have a home theater in the attic,” Viktor continues, leading Yuuri to a door that reveals a staircase going up. Viktor flicked the light on, and made his way up. Yuuri stayed at the bottom of the narrow flight of stairs, anxiety and apprehension rolling his stomach. He’d seen something like this in a horror movie, once. “Sometimes I come and sit up here with Makkachin and open the skylights, and we’ll just sit and watch old silent films together while I do paperwork.” Viktor stops at the top, and looks down at Yuuri, who still hasn’t followed. “Are you coming?” 

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” Yuuri chuckles nervously, knowing that Viktor wouldn’t bite, but still anxious about being alone with Viktor in an attic he had no idea what to expect of. Viktor opened the door at the top of the stairs once Yuuri was halfway up, and he fell in love instantly. 

The room was painted a dark purple, as expected of a movie theater, but there were white christmas lights scattered across the room, artfully connected in the shapes of constellations, the cords taped up to match the color of the paint where the constellations didn’t reach. Sunlight filtered in from the skylights, which were rectangular, but still reminded of the original house’s charm. About three raised rows of four chairs each in two sections of wide, reclining seats were lined up in front of a large projector screen at the end of the room, which stretched about the length and width of the house. An expensive looking projector on the other end was hooked up to an equally expensive looking computer, and a full size popcorn machine like what you would see at the movie theater in the corner. Viktor turned on the christmas lights, which almost seemed to twinkle as Yuuri moved across the room to find the best seat. The chairs were decorated with several folded blankets and pillows, and each had a cupholder on each armrest, and a remote to recline the chair. They were wide enough to fit two people, and Yuuri almost didn’t sit down, but the soft blankets were too tempting to wait. 

“You still never answered me about the popcorn,” Viktor called from the popcorn machine, busy adding the kernels to the pot, and adding the melted butter. 

“Um- just salt and butter is fine,” Yuuri replied, inspecting the buttons on the remote to the recliner. Heated seats? Not really helpful when it was so nice outside, but interesting, all the same. There was a _massage setting,_ he noticed, and he had to put the remote down before he tested all the options at once. Viktor closed the shades on the windows with a click of a button, and Yuuri looked up to watch, unaware that his mouth was open. The popcorn started popping, and Viktor turned on the projector, carefully adjusting it to his liking before turning on the computer. Yuuri got up out of his chair to go and look, curiosity outweighing his worry about how _expensive this all must have been to pull off_. And he had _twelve massaging recliner chairs._

“I’m pulling up Netflix,” Viktor says, and the projector whirrs to life as he says it, Netflix appearing on the wall opposite him. “I’d do this from a seat, but I’d need to turn around to use the roku box, anyway, so I’m just going to use the website,” he sighs, and Yuuri joins him at his side to help him look through Netflix, the popcorn popping in the background a familiar sound that Yuuri could actually enjoy. He turned to watch it for a few moments, and noticed that Viktor also had jumbo sized popcorn buckets like at the movies. He turned back to the computer screen when Viktor started listing off movie titles. He’d typed ‘horror’ into the search bar.

“Are you _sure_ you want to watch a horror movie?” Yuuri asked, recalling how Viktor had reacted to the minor suspenseful themes in _Oz_ before he had fallen asleep. 

“Positive,” Viktor says slowly, scrolling through their options. Yuuri nibbles his lip at a few of the titles, some of them not even _he_ would watch. _The Human Centipede_ , he saw listed, and directed Viktor’s attention to some of the older horror movies, which tended to be much more mild than modern horror. He saw a few foreign films, too, some of which Viktor seemed to recognize. 

They finally settled on _An American Werewolf In London_ , a movie from the 80s about, well, pretty much just that, Viktor ushering Yuuri over to the popcorn machine before rushing to their seats, giggling as they raced against the beginning credits, trying not to spill the popcorn. 

“Are you ready?” Yuuri asks Viktor, who seemed to be vibrating in his seat. Viktor nodded, and then jumped out of his seat again. Yuuri sat up to watch him go. “Viktor?”

“Forgot to turn off the lights!” Viktor called from the stairs, and Yuuri looks up as the lights turn down, sighing dreamily at how pretty the christmas lights look in the dark. Viktor joins him again, burying himself in several blankets and kicks his shoes off. Yuuri snuggles under the blankets as well, getting comfortable, just as the credits end and the movie starts, the popcorn container sitting snugly between them. The movie opened on a dark, Yorkshire moor, and Viktor reached for Yuuri’s hand in the dark. Yuuri shovels popcorn into his mouth instead, oblivious, and Viktor shrinks into the chair, eyes wide as the main characters walk into a pub. 

Yuuri looks over at Viktor as the characters exit the pub and start down the road again, wanting to make sure he was okay, and Viktor glances over at him, and holds his hand out again. Yuuri takes it, and they turn back to the movie, just as the werewolf appears, jumping out of the mist on the moor. Viktor jumps, and Yuuri squeezes his hand, suppressing a smile when he squeezes back. He turns his head to find him curled under the blankets, peeking up at the screen with only the top of his head showing, his eyes glistening in the dark. Taking pity on him, Yuuri tugs his arm to get his attention, and lets him hide his face in his shoulder until the gory parts were over. 

“Thank you,” Viktor whispered, clinging to Yuuri’s arm. Yuuri pats his head, and turns back to the screen. 

“Ok, you can look now, if you want,” Yuuri breathes, the room getting brighter from the hospital scene that appears on the screen. Viktor does, but keeps his head resting on Yuuri’s shoulder in case he had to hide again. Yuuri moves the popcorn into his lap so Viktor wouldn’t spill it. 

“Have you seen this before?” Viktor whispers, once the characters stop talking for a moment, and Yuuri shakes his head. Makkachin jumps up onto their chair and curls up in the spot that Viktor had vacated, and Viktor lifts his head to beckon her over onto his lap so he wouldn’t be hogging her comfort. Yuuri smiled and reached down to pat her head. “ _Khoroshaya devushka_ ,” he whispered, and leaned his head back on Yuuri’s shoulder. Viktor hides his face again when the surviving character’s friend appeared as a ghost, only half listening to the character’s pleas. 

“Are you okay?” Yuuri breathes, and Viktor nods, his arms still wrapped tightly around Yuuri’s arm. Yuuri gently offers him some popcorn, to which he turns down. “The ghost is gone,” he says, and Viktor turns to face the screen again, wondering why in the world he’d agreed to this. He heard Yuuri munching on popcorn above him, and remembered why. 

Yuuri hadn’t been anticipating the love scene. Neither had Viktor, and they remained silent throughout it, Viktor watching with rapt attention, and Yuuri awkwardly swirling the popcorn around in the bowl, breaking up the ambiance a little. Makkachin barked at the screen, and turned to pout at Viktor, who laughed and reached up to pat Makkachin’s head. 

“You tell em, Makkachin,” Yuuri whispers, and Viktor snorts and snuggles back into Yuuri’s side. 

“You’re okay?” Viktor asks, and Yuuri nods, still awkwardly watching the screen. 

The sequence ends (after what feels like an eternity to Yuuri,) and Yuuri could hear Viktor gulp with apprehension. They both jump when the main character screams in pain, and Yuuri wraps his arm around Viktor when he presses his face back into Yuuri’s shoulder a few seconds later, the action drawing him closer until his nose was pressed to Yuuri’s neck. He shifts nervously, still on edge from their awkward silence from before, but Viktor doesn’t seem to notice, his arms moving to wrap around Yuuri’s waist instead. Makkachin whines and lays her head in the space between them, worried because Viktor seemed so scared. 

“We don’t have to keep watching if you’re too scared,” Yuuri breathes, once he let Viktor know that the worst was over for the time being. Viktor shook his head, and turned back to the screen, shifting in his seat so he was more comfortable, his head tucked under Yuuri’s chin. 

“I’m fine,” Viktor breathes, his face flushed with adrenaline. Yuuri shifted again, tucking his knees up underneath him so there would be more room for Makkachin to stretch out. “I’m having fun. Are you?” Viktor looked up, a tentative smile on his face. Yuuri blushed at his gentle expression, and nodded, before turning back to the screen. 

“It’s just, you seemed so tense… I was worried you weren’t having fun…”

“I am, I promise,” Viktor whispers, the real reason he was enjoying himself being that Yuuri’s embrace was so warm and comforting. They gaze at each other for several seconds, almost not paying attention to the movie. Another scream from the movie startles them from their stupor, and Viktor replies with a scream of his own. Yuuri laughs, and Viktor pouts into his shoulder, muttering about how it wasn’t funny. Yuuri apologizes and pats his head, and Viktor looks up at the screen, deciding to watch what was left of the movie without hiding in Yuuri’s shoulder. 

From what Viktor had paid attention to during the movie, it was incredibly sad when the main character sacrificed himself at the end to save his girlfriend. Yuuri’s reaction seemed indifferent next to Viktor’s, who gasped in shock when the character jumped at the girl, only to be shot by police. 

“He knew! He protected you!” Viktor gasped at the characters, and Yuuri looked down at him to find him crying, his hand over his mouth. 

“Are you okay?” Yuuri wonders, concern overriding his interest in the rest of the movie, having only barely stopped himself from breaking down at the sight of the girl fighting to help her boyfriend, himself. Viktor nodded, wiping his eyes. 

“I’m okay…” Viktor muttered, dropping his head to Yuuri’s shoulder again. “I wasn’t expecting it to end like that.” Makkachin got up to sniff Viktor’s face, ready to give him kisses to stop him from crying. He smiled and pat Makkachin’s head, earning extra doggy kisses. 

“Should we turn the lights back up?” Yuuri wonders, setting the half empty bowl of popcorn aside. Viktor shrugs, sitting up. He glances at the screen, which boasted another movie they could watch. But they didn’t have time. Viktor shrugged, sitting up and stretching until his back popped loud enough for Yuuri to hear it. “That sounded painful.” Viktor laughs, and lays back in the chair. 

“If you want to turn the lights back up you can,” Viktor offers, pushing Makkachin back into his lap so he could turn to talk to Yuuri. “The switch is over by the stairwell, it’s slidey cause it’s a dimmer. Or we could just go downstairs and sit in the living room instead.” 

“I don’t mind sitting up here,” Yuuri says, getting up and picking popcorn off of his shirt. Viktor smiled. “It’s cozy. We just have to pay attention to the time, since that movie was at least an hour and a half.”

“And we took fifteen minutes to choose a movie, so that gives us….”

“An hour and fifteen minutes until I have to be at the rink.”

“So an hour,” Viktor sighs, tapping his fingers on Makkachin’s back thoughtfully. “We could make out, like last night,” he suggests, watching Yuuri trip on his way to turn the lights up. “Yuuri?” Viktor sits up, peeking over the back of the chair. “It was just a suggestion.”

“I know,” Yuuri replied, wheezing as he stood back up and turned the lights up. 

“Do you not like that suggestion?” Viktor asks, once Yuuri sits back down. Yuuri shrugs, playing with one of the buttons on his shirt. 

“I never… I never said that.”

“Do you have any other suggestions?”

“We could just… talk? For an hour.” They sat for a couple long seconds in silence, only broken when Makkachin got up and they heard her scrabble down the attic stairs. Viktor put his hand down on the spot where she had been sitting and pursed his lips. 

“Do you want to go downstairs and see the empty apartment?” The idea was tempting, if Yuuri was honest, but after watching a horror movie, it probably wasn’t the best idea. 

“Maybe another time…” Yuuri sighs, leaning back and gazing at the simulated constellations. “I could go for something to drink, though.”

“I can do that,” Viktor agrees, and sits up to fold the blankets up. “Can I interest you in some champagne?”

“No, not before practice,” Yuuri laughs, folding his own blankets up and getting up to collect the popcorn bucket.

“That’s fair. I have orange juice. I’d offer you some vodka, but that’s a lot stronger than champagne.”

“God, I think water’s fine,” Yuuri scoffs, and Viktor laughs brightly. 

“Water it is. Or milk if you’d rather.” Viktor stacks up the blankets behind him, and Yuuri stacks his own on top of them. “I have an espresso machine.” Yuuri looks up as Viktor gets up to turn the computer and the projector off, and goes to flick on the lights, switching the christmas lights off.

“Here?” His interest piqued, Yuuri gets up to follow Viktor downstairs, hugging the bucket of popcorn to his chest. 

“Yes, here. I could make us some cappuccinos. Or some lattes… Green tea with steamed milk, maybe?” Yuuri shrugs. All of those things sounded good. 

“At 3:00 in the afternoon?” 

“Why not?” Viktor flips the lights off to the attic once they reach the bottom of the stairs, and Yuuri closes the door behind them. Makkachin was sitting patiently by her water bowl, which from where Yuuri was standing, looked like it was made of clay or porcelain. Viktor crouches to pick it up, and brings it to the sink. Makkachin follows. 

“I mean, I’m already a night owl, I don’t know if coffee’s such a good idea…”

“I’ll make it decaf, then,” Viktor suggests. “Hard to make a decaf espresso, it’s mostly caffeine….” 

“I shouldn’t have anything with sugar in it, either,” Yuuri says, pulling out a barstool, one of the ones he had been gesticulating at earlier, and sat on it. It was actually pretty comfortable, and he didn’t feel like he was about to fall off of it, which seemed to happen with most bar stools he sat on…

“Also fair.” Viktor returns Makkachin’s water, and pats her head as he goes to pull two coffee mugs out of the cupboard, as well as the ingredients necessary for decaf cappuccinos and lattes. Yuuri nibbles the popcorn, even though he should probably stop eating it. The salty snack would certainly hurt his diet later… “What would you like?” 

“Mm…” Yuuri thinks for a moment, accidentally letting his gaze drift to Viktor’s butt, as it just happened to be in his line of vision. It looked good in those shorts... Bad plan, _bad plan._ Viktor turns to smile at him, and Yuuri snaps his gaze up, a blush on his cheeks. “Oh, uh, surprise me.”

“Decaf vanilla latte?” Viktor asks, opening the cupboard below his espresso machine, which housed several different flavors of coffee syrups, packed in twos, and other various coffee shop necessities that Yuuri wasn’t sure what to make of. This man made however much money on five cafe locations worldwide, and yet he still had a fully stocked cafe in his kitchen despite that. 

“Uhh… sure. Whatever milk you have is fine, I'm not picky.” Viktor beamed, and measured out the coffee to put into the machine before bending over to look through the fridge. Yuuri pulled out his phone so he wouldn’t accidentally look at Viktor’s ass again. 3:49… Plenty of time to spare… almost too much time. What to talk about…

“How long have you been in America?” Viktor asks, over the whirring of the coffee machine. Yuuri looks up from his phone. 

“Since freshman year of college,” Yuuri shrugs. “So about two and a half years, if you count having to come for orientation and finding an apartment…” Viktor nods. He should have guessed. “I think you already said when you came to America…”

“No, not specifically,” Viktor says. “It was about a yearish after the cafe in London opened up, and I decided to go to New York next… Connections, you know?”

“Uh huh…” Yuuri sniffs. “But why Detroit?” He asks. Viktor smiles, distributing the coffee and preparing the steamed milk. 

“Celestino Cheli… Chel? Chal? Caladani?” Viktor scowls, and waves his hand in the air. Yuuri frowns, and Viktor continues. “Anyway, said he knew a guy, he hooked me up with the real estate…”

“Cialdani?” Yuuri asks, surprised. He shouldn’t be, he realized. Celestino was once a popular skater too, before Viktor stole the limelight. They probably knew each other at some point or other… before…

“You know him?” Viktor looks around at him, having not yet put the dots together yet.

“He’s my coach,” Yuuri replies, and Viktor hums interestedly, before turning back to the coffee. “What’s that face for?”

“What? Oh, nothing. Just had a weird feeling in my chest for some reason. Didn’t know he was your coach, he and Yakov, my old coach, talk sometimes at competitions, that’s how I know him. Used to watch some of his programs, too, he had long hair then, too.” 

“Yeah, Phichit found some of his old free skates from way back when, he got embarrassed when he found out we’d watched them. I’ve never seen him wear so much spandex.” Viktor laughs, and turns around to hand Yuuri his coffee, another heart drawn in his milk foam with cinnamon. Having forgotten his earlier meltdown about the heart shaped cheese, he smiles adoringly, and takes a sip. “Mm. This is good.”

“You should see some of Yakov’s work if you want something good to reference, he taught me all the best.” Yuuri watched Viktor’s smile turn sad, and wonders what could make his mood change so drastically. Oh, when had they started talking about skating?

“Viktor?”

“I should call him more often,” Viktor sighs, stirring sugar into his own latte. “He’s like family to me, Yakov is, and Georgi messages me sometimes reminding me to, and… I just never do.” 

“Maybe you can once you drop me off at the rink?” Yuuri suggests, not wanting to leave Viktor feeling sad. “Or…. time zones. Damn, that’ll probably make things harder.”

“Yeah, he’s going to be asleep by then, I’m not going to bother him then… Maybe when I get off work tomorrow, I’ll set a reminder…” Viktor pulls out his phone, this time determined to remember. Yuuri sips his coffee, glad he could help. Which reminds him…

“I should call my family, too,” Yuuri whispers, the last time he’d talked to them being when he texted Mari for the pictures of Vicchan. And before that was his mother’s birthday, which felt like forever ago. Viktor looks up from his phone, the smile returning to his face. 

“Glad I thought of it, then,” Viktor says, and finishes the reminder, lifting his latte to his lips. “Mm. I just remembered we hadn’t had our dessert from before. It should probably go in the refrigerator if we’re not eating it...” Viktor set his coffee down and rushed to take it out of the picnic basket. It looked to Yuuri like a tupperware container wrapped in tin foil, Viktor started to unwrap it to check if it was still okay. 

“What is it?” Yuuri asked, and Viktor smiled, setting it on the counter to take the lid off, for it was indeed a tupperware container wrapped in tin foil. Inside was a small strawberry shortcake, that looked a little sad now that Yuuri thought of it. It had been sitting on the counter for two hours… “Aw, I feel bad now, it looks like it melted….”

“It’s still a little cold,” Viktor pouts, covering it back up again so he could put it in the fridge. “Maybe I’ll eat it later or something… Or save it for another lunch date tomorrow? We could order in~”

“As tempting as that is, it costs money,” Yuuri replies, sipping his coffee, and thinking for a moment, while Viktor pouts at his tin foil. “We’re splitting the bill, and I get to choose the restaurant.” 

“Deal,” Viktor grins, and balls up the tin foil to toss into the recycling bin, making the shot in one throw. Yuuri laughed when Viktor whooped at his success, his delight contagious. Viktor walked around the counter to join Yuuri on the barstools. “We have our coffee,” Viktor says, pulling out a couple stools so he could sit comfortably next to Yuuri without crowding him. “What now?” He turns to Yuuri, whom he was delighted to see had a foam moustache. He grinned, and Yuuri gave him a confused smile.

“We have an hour…” Yuuri says, not even noticing what Viktor was none too subtly ‘not’ staring at. “And I’m no good at talking…”

“I love talking to you though…” Viktor breathes into his coffee. Yuuri blushes, and licks his lips, effectively disrupting his foam moustache. Realizing it was there, he licked the rest of it off, or tried to. Viktor smiled and handed him a napkin, making him blush more. 

“Thanks…”

“You’re welcome…” Viktor leaned on his hand, gazing adoringly at Yuuri as he wiped the foam off his face. “I do love talking to you, though. You… articulate your thoughts about things very well.”

“You mean I English well?” Yuuri snorts, getting up to find the garbage can. Viktor points to a cupboard under the sink, thinking a moment. “I sure hope so, I studied my ass off to learn it.” Viktor got flustered, not having expected Yuuri to swear so freely, not having thought Yuuri would be that kind of person. Yuuri didn’t seem to notice, clearly not in his element, as he missed the trash several times. Maybe he had noticed.

“No, I mean- Well I did too, I’m just saying-”

“I’m kidding, I know what you mean…” Yuuri mutters, sitting back down. Viktor blinks at him, wondering what could possibly be going on in his boyfriend’s head. 

Could he call him that yet? 

“What did you mean?” Viktor asked gently, when Yuuri didn’t elaborate, instead staring into his coffee. 

“I’m not good at… talking about myself sometimes… Like when someone asks ‘how was your day?’ or ‘what do you like to do?’ I can’t… talk about those things?” Yuuri frowns, sipping his coffee. Viktor seems to understand before Yuuri what just happened. 

“You just told me about yourself just now, though... It has to be specific otherwise you can’t answer?”

“Yes? I don’t know. I guess… If someone were to ask me about golf, for example-”

“Golf?” Viktor laughs, nearly spilling his coffee on himself. 

“I’m just coming up with an example!” Yuuri grins, and Viktor melts as Yuuri continues talking. “If someone were to ask me about golf, I’d say ‘I know nothing about golf, never been mini golfing until Phichit and a few other college friends forced me to go with them, and as an ice skater, it never really occurred to me until then, that I can kick ass at mini golf.’” Viktor snorted into his latte, which was almost gone at this point, and Yuuri leans over the counter for another few napkins, as he had successfully made Viktor get coffee all over the place.

“Can you?” Viktor asks, accepting the napkins and cleaning up what coffee he spilled. Yuuri had to stop himself from trying to help, some of the mess having got on Viktor’s shorts. 

“Can I what?” Yuuri asks. He’d forgotten what they were talking about when Viktor started dabbing the coffee off of his shorts. 

“Kick ass at mini golf?” Viktor grinned, his heart shape smile warmer than Yuuri’s latte at this point. Yuuri shrugged. 

“I mean I got a lot of negatives on my score…”

“Isn’t the point of golf to have the least amount of points, though?” Viktor asks, and Yuuri barely stops himself from tipping over his stool from embarrassment. 

“Yeah? Oh my god, see? I know nothing about golf!”

“But just enough to win I guess. Did you get a prize?”

“Gift certificate for Baskin Robbins…” Yuuri shrugs. Viktor nods, making sure he’d gotten all the coffee off his clothes, and turned to wipe up what had gotten on the counter. 

“That’s not bad. Was it good?”

“Yeah.” Yuuri helped wipe up the coffee on the counter, feeling partially responsible. “Have you ever went golfing?”

“If you could call it that. I didn’t think business owners actually went golfing for their business meetings until I was actually invited to go to one? Cause I was the CEO of something? And we didn’t even golf, he just stood there wacking golf balls into a pond. It was….” Viktor stopped to try and collect his thoughts. Yuuri gazed at him, the pause almost comical. “It didn’t make sense, and we never closed on a deal. I think he just invited me so it looked like we were having a business conversation, just so he could wack golf balls at poor, unsuspecting ducks. It was almost sad.”

“Oh my god…” 

“It was like a hunting trip, almost. Except weak and uncomfortable.”

“Have you been hunting?” Yuuri wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to that. 

“Yuuri, you already know the answer to that question,” Viktor dead panned and finishing the rest of his coffee, and Yuuri remembered how Viktor had screamed at the 80’s werewolf movie they had just watched. 

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Yuuri mutters, blushing into his latte. Viktor oscillates his cup back and forth on the counter, a smile on his lips. “I’ve been fishing, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill the fish, because their families were missing them…” Viktor’s smile grows. “I was… like…. Six, I think.”

“Solid logic, though.” Viktor hums, and sits up, straightening his back with a low groan. Yuuri blushes darker and sips the rest of his coffee in silence. “I have to go change, I’m covered in coffee…” Viktor mutters, looking down at himself. Yuuri blushed more at the thought, if that was even possible, and Viktor only barely caught it as he stood from his stool. “You can come with me, if you’d like,” he teased, but Yuuri shook his head, looking mortified. 

“Maybe another time,” Yuuri replied, downing his coffee so he wouldn’t have a chance to spill it on himself. “You made this decaf, right?”

“Of course,” Viktor said, bringing his cup to the sink. Yuuri followed, doing his best not to trip on his shoelaces. “I didn’t forget to.” Viktor smiled and took Yuuri’s cup to put in the sink alongside his own, while Yuuri stood there, desperately wanting to touch Viktor in some way, just to make sure this was real, that he hadn’t just dreamed the past three hours, and the night before. But Viktor was already walking away. “I’ll be out in a minute, I promise, _milaya,_ sit tight, okay? _”_

“Yeah…” Yuuri nodded, receiving a 1000 watt smile as Viktor turned away, down the hallway past the attic stairs, and into a door down the hall. Yuuri was tempted to follow him, just so he wouldn’t be alone, but alas, here he was. He frowned, and went to sit on the couch in the living room, surprised when he sank right into the seat cushions as though it were a large beanbag chair. Makkachin appeared and climbed onto the couch with him, and Yuuri gladly accepted the company. 

When Viktor came back out again, wearing a different, calmer shade of pink tank top and a blue billowy shirt, and a grey pair of knee length shorts, after about five minutes of color coordinating, he found Yuuri dozing on the couch, with Makkachin in his lap. He stood leaning against the wall, hand over his mouth, in awe of the scene. Remembering that Yuuri had somewhere to be, he hurriedly checked his phone to see what time it was. They still had about a half an hour until they had to leave, he calculated, and returned his phone to his pants pocket. 

Viktor takes a good long look at Yuuri from across the room, a gentle smile on his face. He looked beautiful, with the afternoon sunlight streaming in from the nearby window, falling on his face just so, in a way that had Yuuri with his head turned away from the window at an odd angle. Taking pity on him, he went to adjust him,quietly approaching the couch. The movement startled Yuuri awake, and Makkachin lifted her head, smiling her doggy smile at Viktor. Yuuri looks up, embarrassed that Viktor had caught him sleeping. Viktor’s heart pounds in his chest, falling hard over Yuuri’s beauty all over again. He edges around the coffee table to sit beside him, the ability to speak suddenly gone as Yuuri scoots an inch to the left to make room for him, not that he could move much with a dog on his lap. 

“You looked comfortable,” Viktor says finally, obliging Makkachin’s quiet plea for attention by cupping her face in his hands and gently scratching the sides of her head with his thumbs. “I almost didn’t want to wake you. I don’t think you would have appreciated it if I forgot to wake you for practice, though, so…” Yuuri gazes blankly at the poodle’s neck, stroking her back quietly. The couch was far too comfortable to not sleep on. Why were couches so comfortable to sleep on?

“Uh… thanks, I guess… Sorry I fell asleep, I guess I should probably go to sleep at a regular time tonight… School tomorrow again…” Yuuri glances up at Viktor, his proximity making his hair stand on end with goosebumps. Viktor glanced back, a small smile on his face. 

“I don’t mind, really, I hope you had a good nap,” he says, receiving a smile in return. 

“I did, actually, this couch is really comfortable…” Yuuri replied, leaning back into the cushions with a sigh. Viktor grinned, glad that Yuuri had already found his favorite spot. Makkachin pulled away from Viktor’s hands and shook, covering them both in hair. Yuuri laughed as she rolled over onto him, pushing him back into the couch, clearly asking for more attention. Yuuri tried to push her back so he could sit up, but Makkachin just rolled back, trapping him. Viktor chuckled brightly, and fumbled for his phone so he could take a picture. “I’m stuck- nooo, Makkachin….” The dog looked up at Viktor with a triumphant smile. Viktor snapped several pictures, grinning to himself at the results. “Viktor, help… Your dog is heavy...” 

“This is adorable, though…” Makkachin’s tail thumped against the couch rhythmically. “Yes, you’re such a good girl, Makkachin,” Viktor cooed, setting his phone aside to lean over her. Yuuri tapped her belly patiently, a small pout on his face. He wasn’t complaining, he just wanted to sit up. 

“Viktor, please get her up, she’s going to give me a back ache…” he groaned, struggling to sit up. Viktor took pity on him and leaned toward the coffee table to dig out one of Makkachin’s toys. Makkachin sat up almost immediately, and chased the toy into the kitchen when Viktor tossed it. Yuuri sat up and dusted the fur off of himself, and Viktor turned to smile at him, a laugh bubbling up in his chest. Yuuri blushed, leaning back just a bit in awe. Viktor looked so soft when he smiled like that… with his lips turned up with a warmth that Yuuri could never remember seeing in him before, not even in his wildest fantasies. The way his hair was swept to the side just enough so that Yuuri could see the way his eyes squinted against the squish of his cheeks when he smiled… Yuuri lifted his hand to cup Viktor’s cheek, stopping short as his fingertips brushed Viktor’s chin. Viktor blinked at him, his smile softening just so in anticipation, and Yuuri heard him hold his breath, the small intake of breath almost imperceptible. The air stilled between them, and neither spoke. 

The night before had almost felt like a dream, a wild dream induced by too much junk food on a saturday night, even though he hadn’t had much to eat that night, as he’d been too preoccupied with texting Viktor. From the dinner to the movie, to the car ride home… He’d almost thought it was, until he saw Viktor’s good morning text. It still didn’t feel real. 

And even as he gazed at Viktor right now, it didn’t feel real. If it was, he was wildly underqualified for this sort of romance. 

And if it wasn’t…

Viktor continued gazing at him, watching him contemplate his thoughts, Yuuri’s hand finally coming to rest on his cheek after a few moments of tense silence, in which Viktor had been frightened to move, in case Yuuri pulled away in surprise. But he didn’t, and Viktor let himself breathe, but remained still, waiting for Yuuri to decide what to do. 

“Just enjoying the view?” Viktor breathed, when Yuuri didn’t move, the comment making the other blush and look away. Viktor smiled, turning his head ever so slightly to kiss the heel of Yuuri’s hand. “It’s okay to stare, I love the way you look at me…” He gently lifted Yuuri’s chin back up, cupping his cheek in return. Yuuri didn’t look up, instead letting his hand fall from Viktor’s cheek to his shoulder. Viktor could see him nibbling on the inside of his cheek. “What is it?” Viktor wondered aloud, his voice still quiet. “Will you tell me?”

“It still doesn’t feel real,” Yuuri whispered, closing his eyes. Viktor frowns, cupping both of Yuuri’s cheeks. “I feel like I should know you, but all I know about you is from interviews and television, from when you were a teenager... You’re a completely different person now, with an entirely different career…. But I still feel starstruck… and scared, that I’m not enough…” Viktor gently places a finger to Yuuri’s lips, making him look up in surprise. 

“Yuuri, of course you’re enough,” Viktor says, skimming his thumb over Yuuri’s bottom lip. “We’ve only just met, and I can’t get enough of you, I’m drowning in you, you, you…” his hands drift through Yuuri’s hair and down to his shoulders tenderly, and Yuuri closes his eyes again, Viktor’s touch giving him more goosebumps. Viktor smiles, tempted to lean in for another kiss right then. But he didn’t, instead bringing his hands past Yuuri’s shoulders to his wrists, to slot his face between Yuuri’s hands. Yuuri blinked at him with quiet apprehension, not quite sure where this was going. “What do you want me to be to you, Yuuri? Tell me, and I’ll be it.” Yuuri frowned at him, his hands pressed to Viktor’s cheeks. Yuuri pressed more, making him purse his lips. Viktor let him, his eyes filled with love and adoration as he waited patiently for Yuuri’s reply. The possibilities were endless. This was too much power. 

“I… I’m not sure,” Yuuri replied finally, letting Viktor relax his face. 

“Would you like some options?”

“If you can supply them,” Yuuri breathed, only half sincere. He’d thought they were boyfriends, they were dating after all…

“Hmm, a father figure?” Viktor asked, simply spouting ideas. Yuuri frowned deeply. “Okay, maybe not. A brother?” 

“No,” Yuuri whispered, recalling their kiss. _Daddy,_ the tiny Phichit in his head whispered. He bit back a laugh. Encouraged, Viktor continued with a sigh. 

“Your lover, then? I’ll try my best…” 

“Oh my god,” Yuuri snorted, taking back one of his hands to hide his blush. Viktor kissed the other with a lingering reverence. 

“Just a friend, then,” Viktor smiled, somewhat sadly, as he released Yuuri’s hands. “I’ll support your decision.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Yuuri said quickly, and Viktor looked up at him from his dramatic melancholy. “I just want you to be yourself, if- if that’s alright.” Yuuri twiddled his thumbs in his lap, his blush spreading to his ears. “I want to get to know you, the real you. And spend time with you.”

“Like a lover?”

“Like a boyfriend, I hoped?” Yuuri said quietly, and Viktor blushed in turn. “I thought we already were, you know, dating, that’s- that’s what last night was, right? A date?” 

“Oh, oh, of course, Yuuri,” Viktor sighed, placing his hands on Yuuri’s. “I promise I’ll be the best boyfriend you could ever want.”

“No pressure,” Yuuri stuttered, looking down at their joined hands. Viktor was the only boyfriend he could ever want, so there really wasn’t any pressure at all. “B-but that means I can trust you? to- you know, listen when I need a shoulder to cry on, and I’ll do the same, okay? You’re here for me, and I’m here for you.” Yuuri placed a hand on top of Viktors, his heart pounding in his chest. Viktor’s eyes grew wide at Yuuri’s promise, unwavering in his loyalty. “I’m here for you, Viktor. ” 

“Y- Yu _uri…!”_ Viktor gasped, launching forward and pulling Yuuri into a tight hug that would have knocked Yuuri to the floor had they been standing. Instead they fell to the plush couch, Viktor clinging to Yuuri tightly. “ _Oh,_ you take my breath away… Say you’ll come as you are to me, then, too, I want to know everything about you, too,” Viktor whispered into his neck, and Yuuri held him back, his heart full and his confidence boosted from Viktor’s positive reaction. He’d been afraid that Viktor would close off from him this entire time, or if not close off, be a little reluctant, but here he was, holding tightly to him as if he would never let go. 

“Of course,” Yuuri replied, the weight from Viktor’s embrace more than enough to help him relax, and he knew he’d float through practice later on a gust of warmth and renewed determination. His hugs would be the best ‘welcome home’ after a long day, too, he imagined, burrowing into Viktor’s chest.

“You give really good hugs,” Viktor murmurs, lifting his head to kiss Yuuri’s cheek. Yuuri smiles, and leans into it, his anxieties gradually fading. Viktor pressed more gentle kisses to his cheek and temple, “I don’t want to let you go…”

“Have you checked the time recently?” Yuuri asks, craning his neck to try and see the clock on the stove. Twenty minutes. Plenty of time to snuggle and share gentle kisses… Or talk some more. Viktor’s kisses drifted to his neck, as he couldn’t reach Yuuri’s cheek, and Yuuri blushed despite himself, and hid his head in Viktor’s shoulder. 

“Sorry,” Viktor breathes, his breath ragged when he turns to kiss Yuuri’s cheek again. Yuuri’s heart was so loud in his ears he swore Viktor could hear it. Or maybe it was Viktor’s, Yuuri wondered, his face being so close to the pulse in Viktor’s neck. He felt Viktor run his hands through his hair, and relaxed into the touch. “Should I sit up? I feel like I’m squishing you…”

“I don’t mind,” Yuuri whispers, gently resting a hand on the back of Viktor’s head. “We have plenty of time, anyway.” Viktor lifts his head to look at him, propping himself up on an elbow. Yuuri turned his face into the hand that was placed on his cheek, warm and content. A small part of him was embarrassed that he’d relaxed so quickly in Viktor’s arms, but the rest of him breathed in Viktor’s flowery cologne with a heavy sigh and melted into his touch, just like in so many teenage fantasies… 

God, why had he thought of that? His embarrassment grew, with a light blush spreading over his cheeks and down his neck. Viktor brushed his hair from his face, his thumb tracing Yuuri’s cheekbone down to his chin. Yuuri looked up at him, and caught the tender, contemplative gaze that Viktor wore, obviously admiring Yuuri’s features again. They caught each other’s gaze, and Viktor smiled again, his eyes glittering. 

“Can I kiss you?” Viktor breathed, his thumb returning to Yuuri’s bottom lip. Yuuri simply gazed at him, a part of him worried they would be late if they started kissing now, absolutely certain that once they started, Yuuri wouldn’t be able to stop. The fire that sparked in Viktor’s eyes, warming the blue seemed to warn the same. 

He could restrain himself, Yuuri’s confidence supplied, and so he nodded, and moved his hand to Viktor’s cheek in response, his stomach twisting into nervous knots when Viktor leaned forward. 

And then they were kissing, gentle and slow, their lips slotted together, Viktor taking the lead. Yuuri’s heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest, and he was unsure whether it was from anxiety or excitement. Viktor’s hand began moving down his chest as the kiss deepened, and Yuuri panicked, catching his hand in his own before it could go any lower, holding it tight. Viktor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and broke the kiss, hovering inches above him. Yuuri followed him away, now worried he’d upset the mood. Viktor just pecked his cheek, his expression warm and welcoming. 

“Sorry,” Yuuri breathed, holding Viktor’s hand to his chest, feeling shy. “I didn’t want to get carried away…” 

“That’s fine,” Viktor smiled, his own head a dizzying array of emotions he couldn’t quite sort. Yuuri could see them swirling in his eyes, losing himself in them. “Let’s not get carried away, then. Do you want to stop?”

“I-I never said that…” Yuuri mutters, earning another dazzling smile from Viktor. “I just don’t want to be late for practice.”

“I promise not to make you late,” Viktor breathes, taking his hand back to stroke Yuuri’s cheek. “Can you comb your fingers through my hair again? I really liked that before.” Yuuri’s blush deepens at the admission. 

“O-okay, sure,” Yuuri replies, lifting his hands to card his hands through Viktor’s hair just like he’d asked. He briefly recalled wanting to brush Viktor’s hair when he was younger, and suddenly wished Viktor had more hair to brush, now. It was still beautiful, though… Viktor melted into his touch, and Yuuri watched as the man above him became putty in his hands, his eyes fluttering closed. 

“Mm, Yuuri, don’t stop…” Viktor sighs, and Yuuri lifted his head just enough to coax him back into a kiss. Viktor returned the kiss enthusiastically, moaning quietly into Yuuri’s mouth. Yuuri gasps, the action parting his lips just enough for Viktor’s tongue to slip through. Yuuri couldn’t complain even if he wanted to, Viktor’s hands returning to cup Yuuri’s face in a fit of passion. Yuuri gasped softly, and kissed back, trembling with the force of Viktor’s love.

They got carried away, and forgot to check the time. 

  
  
  


**_VN:_ ** _Can I pick you up after practice? I want to take you to dinner again._

_5:27 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Or we could just sit and talk again… or kiss. Either one._

_5:27 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _I can’t stop thinking about you ♡_

_Sent 6:34 pm_

_Read 8:35 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _Maybe tomorrow, sorry. I’m all gross and sweaty… Or Wednesday, the hockey team has a home game and the rink is going to be closed all day, so no practice._

_8:37 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _I can’t either… I landed four perfect quads today, though, which is…. A new record, I think. I could never land any quads in practice without flubbing them all first… too much on my mind, usually._

_8:45 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Wow! I wish I could have seen them._

_8:47 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Do you want to video chat? I want to see your beautiful face._

_8:48 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _I just said I’m all sweaty. Maybe after I take a shower…_

_8:49 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Take your time, gorgeous. ♡♡♡_

_8:49 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _okay, are you still awake? Sorry I took so long…_

_9:46 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _No trouble, I could wait for forever and a half, if it meant I could see you again._

_9:46 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _You could barely wait an hour after you dropped me off to text me… about another date._

_9:47 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _I was going to ask you in the car but you had to get to practice… You seemed nervous, so I waited. Sorry for making you late. Should we have set a timer?_

_9:47 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _That’s sweet of you, actually. But it’s fine, I made me late, too…_

_9:48 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _I couldn’t get enough of your hands in my hair. It was so hot..._

_9:49 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _I couldn’t stop grinding on you…._

_9:51 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Yeah, that was hot, too. Is it too soon to say that I got off on that earlier, cause I did. Just being honest…_

_9:52 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Yuuri?_

_9:59 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Too soon then, I’m sorry. I was just trying to be honest..._

_10:15 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _Uh, sorry, I had to um. Calm down. I didn’t know you thought it was that hot, I just… always wanted to run my hands through your hair, because it looked so pretty. And then you started moaning and… God, I’m sorry, it was only supposed to be kissing…._

_10:19 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _We were kissing… It was just a lot more… sexy. I don’t know why you’re apologizing, and I don’t really think you need to, Yuuri, I loved every second of it. Didn’t you?_

_10:20 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _Of course…_

_10:21 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Then there’s no reason to apologize!_

_10:21 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _Not to bother you, or anything, but were we going to video chat?_

_10:23 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _I don’t want to keep you up again. You have work tomorrow, don’t you?_

_10:24 pm_

**_VN:_ ** _I really don’t mind, Yuuri, I promise you._

_10:25 pm_

**_Y:_ ** _Alright… I’m calling you, then._

_10:25 pm_

Viktor picked up on the first ring. Yuuri laid back in bed with a shy smile, Viktor smiling back at him on the other end, Makkachin on his bare chest. 

“Hey, sexy,” Viktor greeted, his tone bright and flirty despite the fatigue that dragged beside his accent. Yuuri nearly dropped the phone onto his face.

“God, that was so loud!” Yuuri hissed, and he could hear Phichit’s laughter on the other side of the wall. He turned the volume down and leaned over to his bed stand to grab his head phones. 

“Sorry,” Viktor laughs, combing his hand through Makkachin’s fur. “I miss you…” 

“It’s been six hours…” Yuuri replies, though in truth he wouldn’t mind if Viktor was sitting next to him right now. 

“I still miss you… Your kisses are keeping me awake… I have it bad for you, _Milaya…_ ” Yuuri wasn’t sure what to say to that, instead blushing quietly to himself. Viktor pouted at him through the phone. “Speak to me, lovely, what’s on your mind?”

“I n- I never thought anyone would have it bad for me,” Yuuri breathed into the microphone dangling from his headphones. “Let alone you…” 

“Why, because I was a celebrity?” Viktor asks, licking his lips. “I’m not so far away now, Yuuri. I think right now you’re more famous than I am. So really, the shoe’s on the other foot.”

“Oh…” Yuuri whispers, his heart heavy in his chest. It was beating so loudly, and so quickly. Was this happiness? Was this love? “You really don’t think we’re going too fast?”

“Do you? I feel like we’re in a fairytale…” 

“I… I don’t mind it… I just thought we’d talk more, first… You know, Q&A, regular first date stuff. Is it good or bad that we’ve just started making out like it’s breathing air?” 

“Yuuri, I don’t mind waiting for you if you’d rather just talk. I like talking with you.” 

“But we’ve already started kissing,” Yuuri worries, fidgeting. “I don’t want you to get bored of me when I run out of things to talk about…”

“I could never get bored with you, Yuuri, I could sit with you for hours just admiring how beautiful you are.” Yuuri slaps a hand to his face to hide his blush. “I could! I could sit for hours just staring at your back, and I’d be having the time of my life, just because I was with you.”

“You’re not just saying that are you? That sounds like a script.”

“It’s not, I promise, Yuuri. I’m very attracted to you… I’ve never felt this way about anyone…”

“Nobody?” Yuuri whispers, peeking up at his phone. 

“Nobody.” Yuuri watched Viktor’s face, turn stern, his eyes still burning with love and passion. “I’ve never yearned for anyone but you.”

“Ugh, don’t say yearned, you sound like a sappy romance novel,” Yuuri laughed, his heart aching with each beat. Viktor pouted at the camera. 

“I do, though, Yuuri. I yearn for you to be beside me, so I can hold you and kiss you and make you laugh with silly things…” Yuuri laughed nervously, unused to being wanted in such ways. Viktor frowned. “You’re still laughing at me, why are you doing that?”

“I’m sorry, it’s…. No one’s really ‘yearned’ for me before, or if they have they’ve never told me.” He covered his mouth to hide his smile, turning onto his side. “It’s nice… I just don’t know how to reply….”

“No rush, I just want you to know how much I miss you…” Viktor smiles, making Yuuri blush from Viktor’s sincerity. They gazed at each other for several long minutes in silence, until Makkachin snorted in her sleep, making them both laugh. Viktor moved her out of the frame, so she wouldn’t interrupt them again. “Do you want to hear another cheesy pick up line?”

“Oh god,” Yuuri groaned, but grinned all the same. 

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes, do your worst,” Yuuri laughed, and Viktor beamed, and cleared his throat dramatically. 

“Hey babe,” Viktor began, his voice low and sultry, and Yuuri struggled to keep from laughing out loud in anticipation. “Are you hungry? Cause I’m _Daddy.”_

“No!” Yuuri wailed, and Viktor laughed along with him. He hid his face in the pillow, blushing like mad. He almost wished Phichit had heard that. “God, that’s _terrible_.”

“Did you like it, though?” Viktor beamed, rather proud of himself for making Yuuri laugh. 

“Yes, it was amazing,” Yuuri sighed. “I don’t know if I’d use that in a bar, though, you might get yourself slapped.”

“Ah, but maybe I like being roughed up a little, baby,” Viktor purrs, and Yuuri snorts into his pillow. 

“I meant like, you might offend somebody,” Yuuri says, but Viktor only laughs. 

“I never meant to tell anyone but you,” Viktor smiles, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t offend you, did I?”

“No,” Yuuri smiles, his face hot. Viktor beamed, and his phone screen suddenly got a little brighter. 

“Do you have one for me?” Viktor asked, licking his lips. 

“Don’t make me say it aloud,” Yuuri groans, grinning into his hand. Viktor giggles, and Yuuri sighs, and wracks his brain for a good one. 

“Equal exchange,” Viktor sing songs, and Yuuri waves him off through the phone. 

“Okay, okay, hold on, uh…” Yuuri composes himself and runs his hand through his hair like he had for their date, and looks at the camera. “Hey sexy,” he begins, almost unable to finish seriously, and Viktor snorts, blushing like mad. “I have a sword with no sheath, mind helping me out?” Viktor bursts out laughing, and Yuuri drops his phone, dissolving into embarrassed chaos. “God, that was so bad, I can’t believe I said that out loud.

“That was terrible, but I wouldn’t mind taking you up on that,” Viktor snickered. “Is the sword supposed to be your di-”

“Yes, yes, it is, I’m sorry,” he groans, and he could hear Viktor cackling through his headphones. He smiled into his hand despite himself, Viktor’s laughter making him feel all warm inside. “Why did I make this a thing?”

“I think it’s fun,” Viktor said, and Yuuri could hear his grin. He picked his phone back up and dared a glance back up at Viktor. “Oh, you’re so red, _Solnyshko_ , did that embarrass you?” 

“Yeah, I hope Phichit fell asleep, otherwise he’d probably still be laughing at me,” Yuuri murmured, and Viktor sighed, wishing he could kiss the worry from Yuuri’s face. 

“Speaking of, I should probably sleep soon… Will you be coming to the cafe tomorrow morning?”

“Probably… I might order something different, though, that latte you made earlier was really good…”

“I’ll try and remember to charge you for it,” Viktor winks, and Yuuri rolls his eyes. “I’ll probably be in the office then, anyway, I have a few calls to make in the morning. You can come and sit if you have the time.” His smile turns mischeivous, and Yuuri suddenly wishes he didn’t have school the next morning, so he could spend time with Viktor all day. The memory of Viktor’s hands on his hips and back and legs lingered for longer than it should have. If only…

“I probably won’t have time, but thanks for the offer,” Yuuri said simply, scratching his chin idly. “I might sneak back to say hi, though. Do you want to do lunch again? I have a shorter lunch today, but maybe we could go somewhere-”

“Absolutely! I’ll try and get most of my work done before eleven!” 

“Don’t rush through the day on my account, you won’t have anything to do after lunch…” 

“It’s my pleasure, Yuuri.” Viktor winks again, and Yuuri’s stomach does a little flip. They smile at each other for another several minutes, until Viktor’s eyes begin to grow heavy with sleep. “Sweet dreams, _zoloste…_ ” Viktor whispers, placing a hand over his heart. Yuuri mimics him without thinking about it, earning him the sweetest smile from Viktor. 

“Sweet dreams… Goodnight.” Viktor blows him a kiss, and ends the call, and Yuuri places his phone on the bedside table before turning onto his other side and grinning into his hands. He could hardly wait for the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh I promise to have Chapter 4 out soon!
> 
> Translations:  
> “Kabluk, sobaka. Khoroshiy Makkachin, ostan'sya.” - Heel, dog. Good Makkachin, stay.  
> “Kakaya ulovka,” - What a catch...  
> "Hy!" - Hey!  
> “Sledite za svoimi manerami ili vam ne platyat.” - Mind your manners or you're not getting paid.
> 
> If I got anything wrong, please tell me! I used Google Translate, and I know it's not always reliable...


	4. To be continued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be continued

To be continued


End file.
